New Blood
by radiomash
Summary: Tessa continues on her journey at the London Institute, strengthening her ability and discovering more of the secrets of her past and her self. One of these secrets may even lead to a cure for Jem, but at what cost? Can friendship turn into love?
1. Chapter 1: Bungee Ballet

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Infernal Devices or any of the characters, they are all property of Cassandra Clare. This is simply a 'what if'.**

**Chapter One: Bungee Ballet**

"Ok, let's try it one more time. On three; one, two, three!"

Tessa held her breath and jammed her eyes closed, taking the last step forward. There was a moment of perfect weightlessness before she plunged down thirty feet, the air rushing up around her in a suffocating current. Her stomach lurched up into her throat. She opened her mouth to scream, only to find all the air had escaped her lungs, leaving her unable to make a sound. She ripped her eyes open to see the ground rushing up to meet her. Just before impact, she slowed, her shoes just skimming the surface of the marble floor before she found herself shooting back up into the air, the bungee cord tied tightly around her waste digging into her skin uncomfortably as it flung her back in the opposite direction.

She was supposed to be learning how to keep her balance and to jump with more agility with the help of the cord, but all that she seemed to be doing was successfully making a fool of herself over and over again.

She had walked in on Jem standing dangerously on top of the banister of the second floor that overlooked the large entryway. The entrance to the Institute was an impressive circular room whose ceiling arched up seventy feet into a beautiful glass domed peak. At midday the sun streamed in through the glass, showering the room in a soft, glistening light that sparkled off of all the marble surfaces. A grand marble staircase wound up thirty feet to the second floor landing where two massive hallways split off in separate directions dividing the house in half. The left hand side housed the living quarters, where Tessa and the all the others resided, the right hand side housed all the other rooms; the kitchen, the dining room, the library, the weapons and training rooms, and countless others that Tessa had not yet explored.

Tessa had been perplexed as to why Jem was perched so precariously on top of the railing, when suddenly he took a step forward and plummeted down. Tessa gave a short cry and ran forward, reaching the railing just as he bounced back up, sailing delicately through the air, somersaulting elegantly back up onto the railing landing in a perfect, easy crouch.

He had shown her how he was securely strapped into a harness that was connected to a bungee cord. The chord stretched across the open expanse of the entryway and was tied to two massive pillars. He could jump off the ledge and stop just before the ground. They called it Bungee Ballet. He explained that they used it to work on strengthening jumping and accuracy; as you progressed, less and less resistance would be placed on the chords until eventually, theoretically, you wouldn't need them at all and you could jump off the railing with no protection and land without injury. But, Jem explained, no one had ever really made it that far. Will had come the closest. He could now use the least resistance, resistance five, which was the equivalent of jumping off a twenty-foot ledge and landing easily on two feet.

"There's a myth in Shadowhunter lore about the Nephilim that exceeded all others in power," Jem had explained, eyes wide with wonder. "He could leap fifty feet in the air from a dead standstill, and fall a hundred feet without injury. He was faster than any demon, as fast as angels themselves. He was supposed to be the son of an angel. But it's just a myth. No one can really survive a hundred foot fall, not even a Shadowhunter." Jem glanced back at the harness. "We use it mostly as an exercise to get over the fear if anything. They strap young Shadowhunters into the harness and make them step off the ledge." Jem laughed at Tessa's horrified expression. "You have to be able to conquer your fear of death if you want to survive in this business."

"How young?" Tessa asked in a small voice.

"Usually about eight or nine. Seven is the youngest anyone is allowed, but most wait until they're a little older. I was ten when I first did it." Jem smiled ruefully, "I was a late bloomer. Will did it on his seventh birthday. He just couldn't wait."

Jem had then suggested that Tessa herself give it a go. Tessa had refused outright, explaining she couldn't even look down from her bedroom window, which was located only on the second floor, without getting a bit dizzy from her fear of heights. But there was something about Jem that was so reassuring, that Tessa just couldn't say no to. And somehow, through persistent gentle persuasion, Tessa had found herself strapped into the harness and staring down thirty feet into the cold, hard marble floor below her.

The first two attempts had been abysmal, resulting in her screaming herself hoarse and flailing about wildly trying to clutch at the air. On the third attempt at least she hadn't screamed, but that had mostly been the result of fear forcing all the air out of her lungs. She now bobbed up and down gently suspended in midair, her long skirt fluttering around her ankles, a look of defeat on her face.

"It's no use Jem. There's a reason I'm not a Shadowhunter," Tessa lamented.

"Nonsense," Jem laughed, pulling on one end of the cord and beginning to reel her back over to the edge of the railing. "There's really nothing to being a Shadowhunter. We just get trained from a very young age, so we have a little more practice than others. Everything we do, you can be taught. Well," Jem paused for a moment, looking a little perplexed, "besides getting marked, that will kill you." He shook his head before continuing on, looking suddenly determined. "But blood doesn't determine what you can do in your life. You can be born a certain way, or into a certain situation, but that doesn't mean you have to be defined by it. You can always be more than your circumstance."

Tessa glanced up at Jem. He usually placid face was very serious, his brow furrowed in thought. Tessa wondered if he was talking about his own life, his own situation. She hesitated before speaking softly.

"You're right Jem. We should never give up."

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze with his own. His silver eyes were somber but gentle, staring deep into Tessa. In that look there was a mutual understanding of each other, of the difficult lives they both had been dealt, and of the friendship they could offer each other.

Jem helped Tessa over the railing, steadying her as she stumbled slightly over the edge of her skirt. She gave a small sigh of relief to be back on solid ground. Jem shot her an amused look.

"I take it flying was never a great dream of yours."

"I prefer to keep my two feet planted firmly on God's good Earth, thank you very much," Tessa said, fiddling unsuccessfully with the harness in an attempt to release herself from the contraption.

"Allow me," Jem said softly, laying a long, slender hand gently atop her hands to still their movements.

Tessa released the harness quickly, dropping her arms to her side and stood still, allowing Jem's deft hands do the work. His hands moved skillfully over the harness, releasing her in a matter of seconds, the harness falling away from her waist and clattering to the floor. She smiled up at him in thanks and froze, suddenly becoming aware of their proximity. His face was only a foot from her own, his body still so close she could feel the heat radiating off of him. His arms were still raised slightly, hovering just above her waist. She glanced down at his hands and back up into his eyes, slightly embarrassed, and found his brow furrowed once again, a conflicted look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak—

Someone cleared their throat loudly. Tessa and Jem both whipped their heads in the direction the noise came from, only to find Will leaning lazily against the wall of the hallway. Tessa took a large step away from Jem, her cheeks flaring.

"Sorry to interrupt," Will spoke slowly, his eyes darting back and forth between Tessa and Jem. "But Charlotte would like a word with you Tessa. She's in the library."

With that Will turned sharply and walked quickly away down the hallway. Tessa wasn't surprised, or even overly offended. Ever since that night on the roof Will had been even more unpleasant towards her. He had disappeared for a few days after that night, no one knew where he had gone, but he showed up again two days later and no one asked questions. "It's better to just let these things play out with Will," Jem had explained. "He has his reasons."

So Tessa had left it alone and Will had gone on pretending that nothing had ever happened between the two of them. Tessa decided that if that was how Will wanted things to be, then she was fine with it. She could pretend just as well as he could.

Tessa turned back to Jem, giving him a slightly guilty look. "I'll see you later then," she said softly, giving him a small smile.

He returned the smile with an easy one of his own. "I'll see you later Tessa."


	2. Chapter 2: The Source

**Cassandra Clare owns all the characters and such. This is simply my version. **

**Chapter Two: The Source**

Will didn't know where he was going, but it felt good to be in motion so he kept walking forward, wandering the halls of the institute aimlessly. He hadn't meant to be so abrupt with Tessa and Jem, but every time he was in her presence he found himself unable to say the things he really wanted to say. Instead what usually came out was some snide remark, or even worse nothing at all. And then he had stumbled upon her and Jem there together, standing so close to each other, obviously sharing a moment he was not, and never would be a part of. It would never be like that with him and Tessa, not any more. He had ruined any chance he had with her when he had pushed her away that terrible night on the roof. But it was better this way. She was better this way. He was no good for anyone, especially not someone as innocent and untainted at Tessa. She was pure goodness, still in love with the world and not jaded by its harshness. Will's cynicism could poison her if he let it, and he would do all that he could to prevent that from happening. Even if it meant staying as far away from her as possible. Even if it killed him a little bit inside every time he pushed her away through his harsh words. But it had to be done. The only other option would surely end in disaster.

Will looked up from the ground and realized that his wandering had led him to the outside of the broad library doors. The very same library that Tessa was now talking with Charlotte in. As much as Will consciously tried to avoid Tessa, apparently his unconscious would not be as obliging. He was about to turn and walk away when murmured voices through the slightly cracked door caught his attention. Despite the screaming in his mind telling him to walk away as quickly as possible, Will found himself edging closer to the slit in the door. After a moments hesitation Will pressed his eye to the crack.

All he could see was the profile of Tessa standing before one of the many bookshelves, slightly obscured by the edge of the door. She was staring off in front of her where he assumed Charlotte was standing, a slightly confused look on her face. She was listening intently to what someone was saying to her, someone with a male voice, Henry's voice. He was saying something about Mortmain and a location fifty miles west of London.

His interest peaked, Will pressed his face a little closer to the crack, listening hard.

* * *

><p>Tessa didn't understand why Charlotte and Henry looked so grim as they told her the news.<p>

"But that's a good thing, right? You think you know where Mortmain is, that's good, isn't it?" Tessa asked looking back and forth between the two of them.

Charlotte shot Henry a look before turning back to Tessa, hesitating slightly before continuing. "Well yes, yes it is a good thing. A group of us are going to the location our source gave us tonight to investigate. If the information proves to be good, we'll send in a second team and try to, uh, eliminate the situation." She paused again, looking down as if trying to think of what to say next. "But that's not really the reason we called you in here."

Tessa furrowed her brow in confusion, waiting for Charlotte to continue, but she seemed to be at a loss as to what to say. Henry, sensing her struggle to find the right words, picked up the conversation where she left off.

"It's not the information so much that is the issue," he said uneasily, running a hand through his flaming hair anxiously, causing its shoot out in all different directions. "It's the source that gave it to us."

"Ok," Tessa said slowly, still not understanding how this all concerned her. "Who was it?"

"A man named James Caldwell," Charlotte said, finding her voice again. "He has connections to the Downworlder underground. Very deep connections. He is very well informed. He…he says that he got the information from a very interesting source." Charlotte glanced up at Tessa now, their eyes connecting. "A source that was very intent on seeing that this information reached us here at the Institute…and reached you."

"But I don't know a James Caldwell," Tessa explained. "And I don't know who his source could have been. The only people I know in all of London live here in the Institute."

Charlotte looked over at Henry nervously, a silent conversation passing between them. Henry gave her a slight nod and Charlotte sighed, looking back at Tessa.

"Mr. Caldwell said he got the information from a Richard Gray…your father Tessa."

Tessa stared at them, waiting for them to keep talking, but no one said anything. They were looking at her apprehensively, like they were just waiting for her to break down in tears, or faint, or scream. But Tessa was unaffected by the information. She almost started laughing.

"I'm sorry, I thought I had told you earlier but I guess I never mentioned it. My parents are dead, they died when I was three," Tessa explained gently. She almost felt embarrassed for them and hoped that they wouldn't feel bad about the mix up.

Charlotte shot Henry a concerned look, biting her bottom lip in anxiety. Henry returned the look with one equally as uneasy. He took a deep breath, turning back to Tessa to try again.

"We're aware of what you had been told about your parents. Indeed, almost everyone believed that they had died in the accident." He paused slightly before continuing in an even softer voice, trying to lessen the blow. "But they never died in the accident, Tessa. You're parents are alive. And they're trying to warn you."

Tessa stared back at them stone faced, their words slowly beginning to seep into her mind. "I—I don't understand," she stumbled over her words, finding it hard to keep the growing alarm out of her voice. "They…they never…they're alive? They're here in London?"

"Now we don't know if they're in London," Charlotte said quickly. "They could have sent the message from anywhere really. But yes, they're alive." Charlotte allowed a small smile to pass her lips, knowing that the girl had just received impossibly good news. News that would change her life forever.

But Tessa was still just standing there, the same blank expression on her face except now all the color had drained from it.

Charlotte took an involuntary step forward, reaching out to the girl standing before her who suddenly looked so unsteady on her feet. "Tessa—"

But Tessa took a step back out of her grasp, shaking her head slightly. She began backing away slowly, the same scarily blank look on her face. "I'm sorry, I can't. I just—" and then she turned on her heels and dashed for the door. She wrenched it open in a blind flurry of movement and came face to face with a set of big round blue eyes.

Will was standing before her, clearly caught off guard, a look of shock and concern layered in his eyes. Tessa stared back at him, frozen in place.

Will was completely at a loss as to what to say. His mouth was hanging open, making slight movements as if he was trying to find something to say, but the only word that made its way past his lips was, "Tessa…"

Tessa never waited around to hear if he ever finished the sentence, she pushed past him, dashing down the hallway, running away from everyone and everything.


	3. Chapter 3: The Edge

**Don't own it, just playing with it. This Chapter is a little angsty and fluffy for my taste, but it had to be done. Tessa will get her groove back soon and the real adventure will begin. **

**Chapter 3: The Edge**

Tessa was running as fast as she could. Her skirt kept getting caught under her feet, causing her to stumble repeatedly, but she kept pushing forward blindly. Her vision was beginning to blur behind the tears that were forming in her eyes and her breath was coming out in increasingly more frantic gasps. She could feel herself heading very quickly towards the edge of the precipice, only moments away from the plunge that would break her. She only hoped that she made it back to her room before she completely fell apart.

She could hear a second set of footsteps behind her, more heavy and steady than her own. She knew it was Will, could hear him calling her name down the hall, but she couldn't turn and face him. Not like this. Not when she was so vulnerable and broken. She just wanted to be alone with her pain. She wanted to be broken in peace.

She was just feet from her door. A few more seconds and she could shut the door on Will, on everyone, and let the threatening darkness consume her. She crossed the threshold to her room and spun, pushing the door closed as fast as she could.

Just before the door could shut completely, a black boot wedged itself between the door and its frame, stopping it from closing.

Tessa struggled against it for a moment, hopelessly pushing the door against the boot that would not budge until she finally gave up. She staggered back a few steps, seemingly drained, her chest heaving with the crest of sobs bubbling their way to the surface.

Will slipped through the crack in the door, sliding it shut behind him. He stood for a moment staring at Tessa, his eyes wide, a mixture of apprehension and determination in them. He opened his mouth to speak but Tessa cut him off.

"Go away Will, I don't want you here," she ground out, her voice shaking with the burgeoning sobs, or perhaps it was with rage.

Will took a small step forward, raising his arms in what he hoped was a comforting and reassuring way. He spoke in a gentle voice. "Tessa, you've had a great shock. You should really—"

"I don't need anything from you!" Tessa yelled, surprising even herself with the amount of venom in her voice. She saw Will's eyes widen a little in shock and she knew that she should feel bad for yelling at him, but she couldn't feel anything besides the rage and pain and confusion coursing through her body. "I don't need anything from anybody!"

Her entire body was shaking now, her breathing so fast she almost couldn't get enough air into her lungs. Her hands were balled into little fists, the nails digging painfully into her palms, but she didn't care, she relished the pain.

She was expecting Will to just walk away, like he usually did whenever they were forced to face each other. But he didn't, he stood his ground, his determined eyes boring into her own. "Everyone needs someone from time to time," he said softly.

"Well I don't," Tessa spat out with a sneer, her voice so cold it felt like a slap in the face to Will. "I don't need you or Jem or Charlotte. I don't need my aunt or my brother. And I don't need my parents. I've survived sixteen years without them, why would I need them now? I don't need anybody!"

There was a fire in her eyes that Will had never seen before. It was raw and painful to see. Her entire body seemed to radiate with pure grief fueled energy. But Will knew that when that blaze abated and when that energy worked its way out of her, she would be left empty, drained of everything except that hollow aching that he knew all too well. And that was when the darkness would come.

He knew that she didn't want to be around anyone in that moment, least of all him, but he also knew that being left alone was the worst thing for her. Darkness and hate could consume her so easily if she didn't have someone to help her fight against it. And he would be that person until someone else better suited for the job arrived.

He took another step forward, more sure of himself this time. "You shouldn't be alone. I'm not leaving you."

Tessa stared at him for a few seconds before her face crumpled. Tears sprang from her eyes as her body was racked with a violent set of sobs. She swayed on her feet for a moment before her body let go, collapsing to the floor.

But Will was there, scooping her up into his arms just before she hit the ground. He sat on the ground, cradling her slight frame against his own body, stroking her hair gently to soothe her.

It was a position that a gentleman should never be in with a lady that was not his wife, it was much too intimate and personal, but he didn't care. Tessa was in pain and needed someone. She needed another human connection, to be reminded that she wasn't alone.

Her body shook against his own with her sobs. Will said nothing, he simply held her.

"They left me Will." Tessa's voice was so small he almost hadn't heard it. Another set of sobs racked her body before subsiding, allowing her to continue. "They left for sixteen years. Never tried to contact me or find me. Just left me there on my own. Why now? Why do they care now?"

Will honestly had no idea what to say. He had been wondering the same thing, was just as confused by the whole situation as Tessa and the others seemed to be. Why had her parents left? Had they faked the accident, or had it never even happened? Was it just a story fabricated to give some closure to a little girl whose parents abandoned her with no explanation? But Tessa didn't seem to be looking for an answer from him. She kept talking, her voice becoming stronger.

"It took me so long to become ok with them not being around. It took me years to build myself up after the accident, to be able to function. Who I am today is a result of them not being there. And now…" Tessa trailed off, shaking her head slightly. "And now I just don't know. Everything's changing so quickly. Everything I thought I knew, about my past, my family, even myself, is all changing. I don't know who I am anymore."

Will gently lifted her body away from his own, turning her so they were face to face. He brought his hand to her cheek, cupping it lightly. "You're Tessa Gray," he said in a whisper of a voice, his blue eyes never leaving her own. "You're the strongest girl I've ever met and I know that deep down, underneath all this confusion and hurt, you know exactly who you are. None of these things matter, you're still Tessa."

Tessa stared into his ocean blue eyes. There was no trace of the usual sarcasm or humor, only sincerity. "You can always be more than your circumstance," Tess whispered.

Relief flooded Will's face, a broad smile stretching across it. He nodded encouragingly. "That's right. Always."

"Thank you Will," Tessa said softly, hoping he truly understood how much she meant it. She wiped away the remaining tears, pulling deep calming breaths of air into her lungs. She could feel herself coming back together, feel the pieces being glued together and the cracks filled in. She was beginning to feel like herself again.

"Don't mention it," he said, the smile never leaving his face. He stood, extending his hand down to Tessa who took it obligingly. "But really, please don't mention this to anyone," he said while helping her to her feet. "I do have a reputation to uphold, and grandiose displays of sensitivity could be detrimental to my good name."

Tessa smirked at the return of Will's sarcasm, almost relieved at the comfortable normalcy that it seemed to bring with it. "You prefer people to believe you have no heart?"

"Who says I do have a heart?" Will asked.

"I do," Tessa replied simply.

"Huh," Will said in mock contemplation. "Well then I have failed miserably at my goal in life."

"What a pity," Tessa laughed out.

"Indeed," Will smiled broadly at her. He glanced over at the clock set above the fireplace. "I do believe it is dinnertime, if you're feeling up for it. I could always have Sophie bring you something." The humor had once again vanished from his eyes, replaced with genuine kindness.

Tessa smiled back at him in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "I think a little company would do me some good right about now."

"Wonderful," Will grinned, extending his arm for her to take before gently guiding her out of her room.

She had faced the darkness and fought it off. _She's strong_, Will thought. _Stronger than me._


	4. Chapter 4: To Keep the Darkness at Bay

**World and Characters belong to Cassandra Clare. For some reason this chapter was really hard for me to write and came out not how I wanted it, but i'm publishing it out of frustration and because I can't look at it anymore without wanted to delete the whole thing and start over. So here it is. Please be kind!**

**Chapter 4: To Keep the Darkness at Bay**

Tessa couldn't sleep. She had been lying in her bed for hours, waiting for the weariness she knew she should be feeling to overtake her, but it never came. She remained completely alert, her mind racing as fast as the wind.

Though she tried not to think about it, her mind kept focusing on the news she had received that day. Her parents were alive. And they were trying to contact her. But why? And why didn't they come to see her directly, why the middle man?

Tessa sighed in frustration, shoving the blankets off of her and sitting up in bed. She leaned over to her bedside table and lit a candle, leaning back against her headboard and staring off into the corners of her room. Shadows danced high across the walls and ceiling, throwing dark shapes into sharp relief against the white walls. Had she been a little girl again, the shadows would have scared her. She had been haunted by nightmares as a child. She would awake in the middle of the night out of a horrible dream where monsters and dark creatures always chased her away from her home, only to be frightened even more by the shadow monsters that flickered across her bedroom walls. She would scream until someone came, usually her aunt but sometimes Nate would come, and they would have to hold the candle up to every inch of the wall to prove to her that they weren't monsters at all, but just a trick of the light. "Monsters aren't real," her Aunt would say. "It's all just trickery."

But monsters were real. They were everywhere, in every corner of the earth, living among humans. Demons and vampires and werewolves. And herself.

No candle could dispel her fear this time. It wasn't a dream or her imagination, it was all real.

Tessa closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the headboard, concentrating on her breathing. Sometimes it all got a little overwhelming. Sometimes she wished she had never come to London and was still blissfully unaware of the shadow world and of her true nature, back in New York where the sun came out sometimes and life was simple.

It was then that she heard the soft music, so familiar to her now. _Jem_.

She smiled to herself and crawled out of bed, hastily tying a robe over her nightgown and slipping on her slippers. Grasping her candle, she shuffled quietly to her door, opening it slowly to avoid the creaking that often accompanied the old wooden doors. She peered across the hall to where Jem's door stood slightly ajar, gentle violin sounds pouring through the crack.

She looked both ways down the hall, not really expecting to see anyone but checking nonetheless, and then darted across the hall. She stopped just in front of the door, pulling it slightly more open but not crossing the threshold. She just stood there and watched Jem as he played, letting the music wash over her.

He was standing by the window in a pool of moonlight, the pale blue light shining on his white skin and hair making him look otherworldly, almost ethereal. His eyes were closed, brow furrowed in feeling as he swayed slightly with the music.

His fingers glided over the strings, seemingly to barely touch them, producing sounds so hauntingly sweet Tessa didn't know if they made her feel like dancing or crying. The melody was a happy one, but underneath all the joy it held a note of sadness, a longing and aching that broke Tessa's heart.

The music stopped abruptly and Tessa opened her eyes, not even realizing that she had closed them. Jem had turned and was staring at her, still standing in the pool of moonlight, the light catching in his eyes and turning them an even more intense silver. His arms were down at his sides, still holding the violin and bow. A small smile made its way onto his lips. "Tessa, I didn't see you there. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Oh no, I was awake. I can't sleep," Tessa responded, opening the door a little wider but still not entering the room.

"It seems we are both plagued by a sleepless night," Jem said, laying his violin and bow down on the satin chaise that stood across from his bed. "Would you like to come in? It seems a waste to spend our shared restless time separately." he motioned for Tessa to enter the room.

Tessa hesitated slightly before entering the room and seating herself on the chaise next to the violin. This was the second time she had been alone with Jem in his sleeping quarters past the decent hours of night. It seems she was making a habit of breaking the moral codes her Aunt had so diligently drilled into her.

"That song was so beautiful," she said while brushing her fingers delicately over the strings of the violin seated next to her. "What was it?"

"Oh, just a little something," Jem answered, walking over to his bed and sitting on its edge facing her.

"You wrote it?" Tessa asked, looking up at Jem in wonder.

"Writing. It's not done yet. I still don't quite know how to end it," he finished, looking into Tessa's eyes. "I'm waiting for the right inspiration."

"Well you're off to a beautiful start," Tessa responded looking down, feeling slightly embarrassed under Jem's intent gaze. Few people had ever seen her in her nightclothes, and she was suddenly feeling extremely underdressed. Not that Jem made her feel uncomfortable; in fact Jem was one of the few people that made her feel completely free and at ease. But few people also looked at her the way Jem did, like he actually saw her, saw inside of her. She had become so accustomed to being ignored and overlooked, the plain Jane compared to girls like Jessamine, that male attention still unnerved and embarrassed her. "I hope you will let me hear it when it is completed," she finished.

"It would be an honor," Jem smiled softly at her. He paused briefly before continuing. "I'm glad I saw you tonight, I was wondering how you were doing. I heard about…" He left the sentence hanging in the air, seemingly unsure of how to finish it.

"Yes, I'm fine," Tessa answered, fiddling with a loose string on her dress and forcing a smile onto her face. "It just came as a big shock is all. I'm fine now."

"Did you find out anymore information?" Jem asked gently.

Tessa shook her head. "Not really. Charlotte said that they would hopefully know more after tonight. She promised to come get me the minute they get back from their investigation on Mortmain tonight, no matter what the hour." She sighed, glancing at the clock that stood on the mantle over Jem's fireplace. "They've been gone for almost five hours. They can't be gone much longer, can they? How long do things like this usually take?"

"It depends really," Jem replied. "They portaled there, so travel time isn't anything. They must have found something they needed to investigate further. If the situation seemed promising, they may have called for a second team and tried to pick Mortmain up right then. Please don't worry," Jem said lightly in response to Tessa's stricken face. "This is our job, what we're trained for from a very young age. Charlotte and Henry are more than capable in situations such as these."

"I know they are. I just—I just don't want any more people getting hurt on account of me," Tessa said, still unable to meet Jem's eyes. "This all started because of me. People have _died_ because of me. Innocent people." Though Tessa fought it, tears began to fill her eyes. The memory of Thomas's pale, lifeless body flashed across her mind.

"They didn't die because of you," Jem said firmly, leaning forward to stress his point. "They died because of a mad man's insatiable desire for power. Never blame yourself for his monstrous actions. You are as innocent as Thomas was."

Tessa's eyes flashed up to Jem's. So he had known what she was thinking—that Thomas had been her fault. And perhaps he was even right, though she was having a hard time believing him.

"You're just like Will in that way, always holding yourself personally accountable for the safety and welfare of all those around you," Jem said while rising from the bed and walking to the large wooden dresser that was across the room. "Though Will would never admit to being concerned over another human being," he added.

_Will_. Tessa's mind flashed back to just a few hours earlier, his soothing embrace, his gentle words, his undeniable kindness. She hadn't seen him since dinner. He had disappeared before she had a chance to thank him again for being with her when her world had very nearly collapsed around her. She wasn't quite sure where their relationship stood as of then. Would things go back to the way they were with him ignoring her when he was not using her as a verbal punching bag? Or had things changed tonight? Could they possibly be becoming friends?

Tessa's attention focused back on Jem, who was sliding a small black velvet box out of the top drawer of the dresser. He looked back over his shoulder, shooting Tessa a shy grin before saying, "I have something for you."

"For me?" Tessa asked in surprise.

"It's just a little something," Jem explained while fiddling nervously with the small box in his hands. "It was given to me years ago by a Warlock as thanks for a service I provided him. I've never had a use for it or had anyone really to give it to until now."

Tessa rose from the chaise and walked over to Jem. "I hope it can be of some use to you," Jem finished, opening the lid of the box.

Tessa peered inside and her breath caught. The box contained a necklace unlike any she had ever seen before. It had a simple black string, but attached to the string was a beautiful gray star shaped pendant only slightly smaller than the palm of her hand. The pendant seemed to pulse with energy, like it had a life of its own. Tessa reached forward to touch the pendant, and as her fingers grazed its smooth surface it burst into life, lighting up and glowing a pale blue.

"It's witchstone," Jem said softly. "I thought you could use it, to keep the darkness at bay."

"Oh Jem, it's beautiful," Tessa said still gently caressing the stone. It was incredibly smooth and cool to the touch. There was something reassuring about it, about having a light that never went out.

"Allow me," Jem spoke gently in her ear, taking the necklace from the case and smoothly stringing it around her neck. When it was secured, he gently took her by the shoulders and turned her slightly so they both faced the mirror that hung over the dresser.

Tessa stared stunned at the picture before her; the necklace made her neck look long and slender, the neck of an elegant lady. The stone glowed steadily on her chest, illuminating her face ever so softly in its gentle pale light. She actually looked beautiful, she thought. Like a woman.

Jem was standing behind her looking over her shoulder into the mirror, his hands still resting gently on her shoulders. He was so close Tessa could feel his warm breathe ghosting over the bare skin on her neck. "It suits you beautifully," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. Their eyes connected in the mirror, and Tessa felt a tremor run through Jem's hands where they rested on her shoulders.

Suddenly, there was a bang so loud that Jem and Tessa jumped apart in shock. There were voices in the hallway outside, frantic and loud. Someone was yelling hysterically.

"Magnus Bane! Get Magnus Bane! Get him NOW!"

It was a woman's voice, a voice Tessa recognized. _Charlotte_.

Tessa looked over at Jem but he was already halfway to the door. Tessa quickly followed and stumbled out the door after Jem, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the scene in front of her.

Charlotte was running down the hall, a frenzied look on her face, the front of her dress splattered in deep crimson blood. Behind her two men Tessa didn't recognized, also covered in blood and grime, supported a barely conscious man under the arms. The man was sheet white and drenched in blood. There was a large gash on the side of his neck that was pouring out blood mixed with some sort of thick blackish substance that made Tessa want to vomit. The man's flaming red hair was matted to his face by a mixture of blood and sweat. "Oh god!" Tessa gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Henry!"


	5. Chapter 5: The Pendulum

**I don't own The Infernal Devices or the characters. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, it's nice to know that some people are actually enjoying my rambles. I hope to keep up my consistent updates, but my schedule for the next month gets a little crazy so there might be more space in-between chapters, but I will do my best. I do have the entire story planned out in my head and plan on finishing it. I can tell you right now it is going to be a looong one, so if you like really long multi-chapters hopefully you'll like this one. Things start to pick up now, so here we go.**

**Chapter Five: The Pendulum **

It was almost like floating. Later, when the dust had settled into a momentary reprieve, Tessa would equate the feeling to a recurring dream she had, one where everyone moved in a flurry of movement around her, sped up like a wind-up dolls, while she moved slowly, as if bogged down by heavy weights, a fog falling over everything she saw. She would flit on the peripheral, not really participating in the action of the dream but simply floating through it as a passive observer, unable to move fast enough. That's how she felt now; like a floating observer, unable to move or completely process what was going on. A fog had settled thick into her mind making everything around her hazy. It was like a living dream.

"TESSA!"

Someone shaking her roughly by the shoulders jolted Tessa back into reality. She looked up, taking in her surroundings, not exactly sure how or when she had gotten there. She was leaning over one of the beds in the infirmary, both hands firmly holding a rapidly reddening piece of fabric against the wound on Henry's neck. His body was lifeless, his eyes closed and his skin pale white. Crimson blood coated his entire neck and the top half of his white shirt. Some had splashed up onto his face, caking his jaw and half his cheek in red. Tessa had never seen so much blood in her life. The sight of it made her want to faint.

The shaking started again, and Tessa realized that the person still had her by the shoulders and was trying to tell her something. Tessa whipped her head to the side to find Charlotte, mad-eyed and covered in almost as much blood as Henry. She continued to yell at Tessa, her words finally beginning to sink in.

"TESSA, MOVE! WE DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE, MOVE!"

Tessa dropped the rag and took a clumsy step back, bumping into the bedside table and knocking its contents onto the floor.

But no one was paying attention to her anymore. Magnus Bane swept past her, his eyes serious and his fingers already spouting blue sparks. He leaned over Henry's lifeless body and immediately went to work, running his hands methodically over it, the sparks connecting and seemingly entering his body.

Charlotte stood on the other side of the bed, one of Henry's hands clutched firmly in her own, her face a blank mask but her eyes wild with fear.

The two men who had carried Henry in stood a few feet off to the side, speaking quickly in low voices. They were arguing, Tessa could tell. One, a short fat man, was moving his arms fast in emphasis with whatever he was saying, trying to convince the other of something. The other man, much taller and extremely slender, stood perfectly still, his stoic face revealing no emotion. His eyes flashed to Tessa's for a moment as he listened impassively to the short man, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. His eyes, like the rest of him, were cold and emotionless.

Feeling suddenly very much in the way, Tessa began to back away further from the scene. Magnus was already drenched in sweat, his arms beginning to move more quickly. Henry's body had begun to jerk violently with Magnus's movements, his back arching painfully off of the mattress. Charlotte was trying without much success to restrain him, pushing all of her body weight onto his shoulders in an effort to return him to the mattress. The sight made Tessa's stomach lurch, bile rising slightly in her throat. The scene before her was more terrible than any nightmare she had ever had.

Suddenly Henry's eyes shot open, perfectly round and staring off straight ahead as if focusing on some far off point. He then let out an earth-shattering scream, guttural and filled with pain.

Startled, Tessa stumbled back, steadying herself against the wall beside her. She took her hand away and stared at the wall in shock. Where her hand had been was a perfect, crimson red handprint on the otherwise unblemished white wall. Tessa looked down at her hands and found them covered in the same red substance. _Blood_. Henry's_ blood._

Her hands began to shake, but she couldn't look away from them, caked in that beautiful and terrible red. She was back on the Institute steps watching Thomas's life drain away from him, blood seeping from his wounds, back at the Dark Sisters' mansion changing into Emma Baylis for the first time, the blood soaking through the stomach of her dress, back in Jem's room watching him choking, unable to breath and coughing up his own blood. She couldn't escape the blood. It had seeped into every aspect of her life, tainting all she cared about.

Henry's screams were increasing in intensity and Magnus worked even more feverishly over him. Tessa couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out. She looked up and met a pair of sharp silver eyes. Jem was watching her, looking almost lost standing between the bed containing Henry and where Tessa was standing, seemingly torn between who needed his help more. Tessa looked down into her hands once more before looking back up at Jem, then darted for the door.

She wrenched it open, leaving a bloody handprint on the doorknob, and hurtled through the doorway. She turned blindly to her left, planning on running to her room where she could escape the madness, escape Henry's agonized screams, but her progress was halted when she came in contact with a hard body.

It was Will, looking startled and confused. "Tessa? What's going—"

He stopped abruptly when he saw her blood stained hands. His own hands immediately went to her shoulders, concern flooding his face. "Is that blood? Are you hurt?" he asked quickly, his eyes running over he body for more wounds.

"It's—it's not mine," Tessa gasped out. "Henry—"

Will's eyes flashed to the open door behind her and he released her shoulders, brushing past her quickly and entering the infirmary, closing the door behind him.

Tessa was alone again. The empty hallway was almost completely silent save for Henry's muffled screams. It seemed almost oddly still compared to the chaos that was happening behind the closed doors. The sudden separation from movement and noise made the hammering of Tessa's heart all the more noticeable. She realized that she was taking short ragged breaths.

The door to the infirmary suddenly opened and a flurry of hushed voices rushed out, but noticeably absent were Henry's screams. Jem stepped through the door, quickly shutting it behind him, and walked up to Tessa. His eyes were full of concern, but his voice was even and gentle when he spoke.

"I brought this for you," he said, holding a damp cloth out to her.

"What?" Tessa asked in confusion while staring down at the cloth. The fog was beginning to return, clouding her mind.

"For your hands," Jem finished, looking down at her blood caked hands.

"Oh," Tessa said, taking the wet cloth from him. "Thank you."

"He's going to be ok," Jem added, causing Tessa to look up sharply. "Henry, he's going to be fine. Magnus has worked yet another miracle."

Relief flooded through Tessa, so intense it almost knocked her off her feet. She stumbled back until her back hit the wall, sliding down until she sat in a crumpled heap on the floor.

In a flash Jem was kneeling in front of her, his arms outstretched as if he was about to gather her into his arms but had stopped himself.

"Tessa," he asked in alarm. "Tessa, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she answered leaning her head back against the wall. She suddenly felt extremely tired, drained of every last drop of energy she had. "It's just very good news. I'm very relieved."

"We all are," Jem said, moving to a sitting position. "Magnus had to pull out every trick in the book to get all the demon poison out of him. It almost didn't work."

"What happened?" Tessa asked in exasperation. "_How_ did this happen?"

Jem hesitated slightly before answering. "Charlotte says they were set up. That Mortmain new they were coming and trapped them." He looked down, finishing in a small voice. "It was a slaughter."

"But how could he have known?" Tessa asked in growing alarm. "That means that the information we received was bad. That means that—"

Jem's eyes met Tessa's and she knew what he wouldn't say. "You think _my parents_ set them up?" she gasped out. "Why? Why would they do that?"

"We don't know exactly what happened yet, we don't know it was them," Jem tried to soothe her. "Any number of things could have happened, we just don't know yet."

"But everyone thinks it was them," Tessa stated more than asked. Jem's silence was enough of an answer for her. The silence stretched on, Jem uncertain of what to say, Tessa unable to form coherent thoughts. The last 24 hours had felt like she had been tied to a pendulum, swinging back and forth from highs to lows in a matter of seconds, unable to stop or slow down. Things were very rapidly careening out of control.


	6. Chapter 6: The Chance

**Once again I don't own the characters or the world they live in. Thanks again to everyone who is reviewing, it makes me want to update faster! This chapter is a bit long with a lot of dialogue and not too much action, but it sets up a lot of future events so it had to be done. Hope you like it cuz things are about to get a bit more interesting. **

**Chapter 6: The Chance**

When Tessa awoke the sun was already high in the sky, just past the peak of noon. Still, Tessa felt tired. The sun had been rising when Jem had finally convinced her to go to bed, saying that he would come get her if there was any change in Henry's condition. Tessa knew that Jem would never actually wake her if there was any change, but she allowed him to persuade her into her warm bed where she fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Her sleep had been fitful, filled with nightmares and tossing and turning, but at least she had slept. Which was more than she could say for Sophie, who was now entering her room with a tray of tea and biscuits. Sophie's eyes were ringed by deep black circles and she was extremely pale. She seemed to be struggling under the weight of the small tray she held.

Tessa rose quickly from her bed taking the tray from Sophie just before it tumbled from her grasp and placing it on the small table.

"Thank you Miss," Sophie said in a dazed voice, her eyes glazed over from lack of sleep.

"You look ill Sophie, have you slept?" Tessa asked, concern layering her voice.

"Not yet ma'am. Not with Mr. Branwell needing tending to and the household still having to be run. There's less help around the house now that Thom—" She stopped short, her eyes flashing to Tessa's. "Well not since it all happened."

"Well I'd be more than happy to help in any way that I can," Tessa said in a small voice.

"Thank you Miss, but I'll be ok." Sophie gave a quick curtsy and hurried out the door.

Tessa sighed and sank into the chair at the table, looking disinterestedly at the contents of the tray. She wasn't the least bit hungry. A constant knot of anxiety gripped at her stomach, chasing away any appetite she might have. Things were so uncertain, so confusing at the moment, especially after the events of last night.

Henry had been saved from the brink of death by Magnus Bane, but just barely. And now that his life was no longer at risk, the questions had begun to be asked. Jem wasn't the only one that questioned how Mortmain had known about the attack, it seemed the entire Clave was asking the same question, and they wanted answers. Answers from Tessa.

While Jem and Tessa had been sitting in silence in the hallway, still unable to think of a thing to say to the other, the short fat man Tessa had seen arguing with the tall man in the infirmary appeared before her, red faced and sweating profusely.

"Miss Gray?" he had asked, dabbing at his sweating baldhead with a handkerchief.

"Yes?" Tessa answered slowly, shooting Jem a questioning look. Jem stared back at her, clearly as confused as she was.

"Very nice to meet you Miss Gray, though I wish it was under better circumstances." He forced a laugh at that, then cut it short seeing Tessa and Jem's un-amused faces. "Yes, well, my name is Matthew Ritecliffe. I am a council member of the Clave." He stopped abruptly, eyeing Tessa. "You are aware of the Clave, yes? I assume because you are taking asylum at an Institute that you are fully versed in the law and the ways of the Clave, even though your origins are, shall we say, questionable."

Tessa gave a curt nod of acquiescence; her eyes staring coldly back at him.

"Wonderful!" Ritecliffe said with forced enthusiasm, mopping once more at his sweating brow. "As you know the Clave must look into all matters concerning Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike. The incident tonight is very grave, very grave indeed. It seems someone is actively working against the Clave, setting Shadowhunters up for attack." His eyes flashed to Tessa's. "And it is our job to find out who it is."

"So what do you want with me?" Tessa asked coldly. Her hands were balling up into fists at her sides.

"Nothing at all my dear, nothing at all! Just a few questions to clear up some confusion!"

Jem opened his mouth to protest but Tessa responded before he could get a word out.

"Fine. Ask me anything you want."

"Wonderful!" Ritecliffe exclaimed, clapping his hands together jovially. "Now if you'll just follow me, these things are best done in private. The library will do just fine."

Jem jumped to his feet in protest. "Anything you want to ask her you can ask her here, with me standing next to her," he said, a sharp edge to his voice.

Tessa climbed to her feet, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jem, it's fine. It's easier if we just do what they say."

Jem's eyes connected with her own, and Tessa saw distrust and fear in them. Tessa wanted to reassure him that she would be fine, that she could hold her own against Ritecliffe, but she never got the chance.

Ritecliffe clapped his hands together once more. "Excellent! Wonderful! Now if you'll just—" He took her by the elbow, smoothly guiding her down the hallway towards the large library doors. Tessa glanced behind her as she was guided away. Jem stood motionless, watching her as she walked away, his form growing smaller as the distance between them grew. Tessa wished that Jem was at her side, his gentle reassuring presence there to support and comfort her. Jem made everything seem like it was ok, like nothing was ever too much to handle. But now his small form was disappearing behind the edge of the library doors as she was steered into the empty library.

Tessa looked forward again and discovered that the library was not indeed empty. There, standing stiffly in the center of the room, was the tall man from the infirmary, staring at Tessa once again with cold, distant eyes. Tessa took an involuntary step back away from the man, now wishing desperately that she had let Jem fight a little harder for him to be stay by her side.

"Right, Tessa, this is—"

"Michael Blackwell," the tall man finished for Ritecliffe, effectively cutting him off mid sentence. "Pleased to meet you Miss Gray."

Tessa said nothing. Blackwell made her uneasy in the worst way. His cold eyes were shrewd and calculating, eyeing her in a way that made her feel like he had already decided upon her guilt.

"Won't you have a seat?" Blackwell motioned to the singular chair that had been dragged into the center of the room. So this was to be an interrogation, Tessa thought.

"I'd prefer to stand," she replied tersely.

"As you wish," Blackwell said with an air of disinterest. "To get straight to the matter at hand, we wish to ask you some questions about what happened tonight."

When Tessa didn't say anything, Blackwell continued. "As you know, the Clave was given false information that resulted in the deaths of over thirty Shadowhunters."

"Thirty!" Tessa gasped. She had known that they had been devastated, but she hadn't known the exact number. Jem's words flashed through her mind. _It was a slaughter_.

Blackwell's eyes drilled into her own. "Obviously, we are very intent of finding out how this all happened."

"And what do I have to do with it?" Tessa asked, though she already knew the answer.

"The information that led us to engage Mortmain came from a man named James Caldwell. A man who has been a reliable, trusted source of information to the Clave for over twenty five years. And do you know where he said he got his information from?" Blackwell's beady eyes never seemed to blink. Tessa felt like they were penetrating deep into her mind, seeing her most private thoughts.

"My father," Tessa answered in a soft, wavering voice.

"Precisely," Blackwell answered. "The most obvious conclusion is that your father knew of Mortmain's plan and led our team right to him."

"But how do you know it was him!" Tessa cried, a sudden urge to defend her parents overriding her knowledge that all the evidence pointed to their betrayal. "How do you know it wasn't Caldwell! Why don't you go ask him!"

"Oh, we intend to. A team is sweeping the city searching for Caldwell as we speak. But we must also investigate the possibility that your father is the source of the bad information." Blackwell paused, his eyes drilling even more ferociously into her own. "And investigate any possible enemy forces that may have worked their way into our trusted circle, here at the Institute perhaps."

Tessa was momentarily stunned into silence, unable to make a sound. When she finally regained her ability to speak, she choked out her words, stumbling over them. "You—you think I had something to do with all this? With the massacre? With Henry getting hurt?"

Blackwell ignored her question and continued on with his own. "When exactly did your parents contact you for the first time?"

"What?" Tessa said in exasperation. "My parents never contacted me, I didn't even know they were alive until this morning. I haven't seen or spoken to them in sixteen years!"

"Indeed," Blackwell responded dispassionately. "You understand that your appearance here at the Institute corresponding to all these…problems…with Mortmain is a little suspicious. Especially since we are not entirely certain of what, exactly, you are."

Tessa was overwhelmed, not sure how to respond. But Blackwell never gave her a chance, continuing on with no pause.

"Your relationship to the family running the Institute here in London also begs certain questions. It is unusual for Downworlders to have an—extended—stay at any Institute. It is a curious occurrence."

"Charlotte and Henry are simply being kind. They're trying to help me," Tessa ground out through clenched teeth. "They have nothing to do with any of this."

"So you are acting alone then?" Blackwell asked, his eyes flashing.

"That's not what I meant," Tessa responded in frustration. "Listen, I have no idea who's working with Mortmain to attack Shadowhunters. If it really is my parents, then they haven't told me about it. I don't know anything, and neither does Charlotte or Henry or anyone else here!" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them and looking back into Blackwell's eyes. "Now if you don't have anymore questions, I think I'll be going."

Tessa went for the door and neither Ritecliffe nor Blackwell tried to stop her. Just has she reached the doorway, Blackwell called out to her in an infuriatingly calm voice.

"Do take care, Miss Gray. The Clave is extremely interested in your future. We will be keeping a very close eye on you."

Tessa's shoulders stiffened at his words, but she didn't turn around. She kept moving forward, escaping through the door and into the empty corridor.

Later she had told Jem everything that had occurred in the library, everything from Blackwell's suspicions and his subtle threat.

Jem had been concerned. Blackwell was a high councilor, he had explained, one with a lot of power in the Clave. To have his suspicions was to have the suspicions of the entire Clave. Sensing Tessa's mounting anxiety, Jem had tried to soothe her worries. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll get this all sorted out. We all know you're innocent, we just have to show them now."

Tessa had not been convinced that it would be as easy as Jem made it seem, but she allowed his gentle words to soothe her nerves.

Now, sitting at her small table alone in her room, the events of the night before seemed far away, like they had happened years before.

Blackwell's threat still hung in her mind. _We will be keeping a very close eye on you_.

She didn't doubt it. She expected that as she sat there, a team was being assembled who's sole duty was to watch every move she made. Perhaps the team had already been assembled. Perhaps they were already watching.

The thought only served to make the knot in her stomach grow. She had to do something, anything, to keep her mind off of it. _To begin I should get dressed_, Tessa thought.

She didn't bother getting Sophie to help her dress, she had enough things to do without having to stop everything to help Tessa into her clothes. It was a bit difficult getting all the buttons on the back of her sky blue dress fastened, but she eventually managed with a triumphant sigh.

She was just sitting down at her vanity table to do her hair when a soft knock came from the door. Assuming it was Sophie coming to help her dress, Tessa called out quickly for her to come in, prepared to tell her that her services were not required.

But the door opened to reveal not Sophie, but Will. He stood awkwardly in the doorframe, unsure of whether he should enter or wait for her to ask him inside.

"Will!" Tessa exclaimed in surprise. "Would—would you like to come in?"

Will hesitated slightly before entering the room, shutting the door quickly behind him. He stood in the middle of the room, staring at Tessa, his eyes fierce.

"Is everything ok Will?" Tessa asked, alarmed by the look in his eye.

"If you had a chance, a chance to find Caldwell before the Clave did and find out for yourself what all of this means, would you take it?" There was fire in his eyes as he said the words.

"What?" Tessa asked in confusion.

"Would you take it?" Will asked again, taking a step forward, his eyes flashing.

"Yes, I would," Tessa answered seriously, suddenly matching Will's intensity. "What do you know Will?"

Will hesitated slightly, a battle waging behind his eyes. There was determination in his eyes, a burning that only came with the resolve to take action, but there was also uncertainty, an underlying fear. "I know where to find Caldwell," he said finally. "And I need to know if you want to find the truth, the _real _truth, no matter how much it may hurt."

Their eyes burned into each other, each penetrating deep down into the other, daring the other to back down. But neither did.

"I do," Tessa said firmly.

Will continued to look at her for a moment, seemingly weighing her answer, trying to find any hint of deceit in her eyes. Apparently finding none, he gave a quick nod. "Ok, then lets go."

"What, now?" Tessa exclaimed.

Will, who had already turned for the door shot her a grin over his shoulder. "Now," he said, and continued out the door.


	7. Chapter 7: Climb

**Whew, OK sorry it took me so long to update, i've been having trouble finding time to sit down and write lately. I'll try to be better about it , I promise. So this chapter killed me to write. I literally wrote a 3,000+ word chapter, re-read it and hated it, started over from scratch, wrote another completely different 3,000+ chapter, hated that one even more, and eventually went back to the first version and just tried to revise it. I don't like at all how it turned out but I'm having a bit of writers block so I need to just move past this chapter to get my flow back. Ok, enough with the disclaimers, here it is. Reviews would make me feel better about this chapter's suckiness!**

**Chapter 7: Climb **

Tessa was hurtling down the hallway, trying desperately to keep up with Will's long strides. She had barely had time to throw a traveling cloak on over her long dress, and her hair was hanging in limp curls at her sides, but she didn't care, her excitement drowned out all other thoughts.

She almost ran into Will when he stopped abruptly at the end of the hallway, peeking his head slowly around the corner. She leaned against the wall, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

"Will," she said in a breathy whisper. "I think the Clave is watching me. Blackwell said they we're keeping a close eye on me. We have to be careful."

"I know," Will answered not turning around to face her. His eyes were trained on the end of the hallway where it split off in opposite directions. "They have two men posted at every exit, two men posted on the grounds outside, and five men that sweep the building every twenty minutes."

Tessa was stunned. "Wh—what?" she stuttered out. "Who do they think I am? A magician?"

"Well you are supposedly a Warlock," Will murmured. "Though not a very good one since you don't seem to really have any powers except the ability to change into creepy dead people." Tessa shot him a dirty look, crossing her arms over her chest in indignation.

"Not all of them are dead," she said obstinately.

He grinned at her over his shoulder. "Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting talent. Just not very—versatile."

He turned back to peek once more around the corner, Tessa staring daggers at the back of his head.

After a moment Will turned completely to face Tessa. His face had turned suddenly very serious and he spoke in a low voice. "Ok you have to listen to me now, no questions just do what I say. Understand?"

Tessa nodded, her eyes widening.

"There's a secret passageway—"

"A secret passageway?" Tessa asked before she could stop herself. She suddenly felt like she was in one of her favorite mystery novels, escaping the clutches of the evil Lord through secret torch-lit passageways and hidden underground channels.

"No questions!" Will scolded, narrowing his eyes at her. "There's a passageway out of here that opens on the west side just inside the property gates. If we time it right we should have enough time to hop the fence in-between the grounds sweeps by the guards. I have a carriage waiting for us a block away outside Blockard's Tavern." He paused. "Ok now you can ask questions."

Tessa stared at him stunned. She hadn't quite expected Will to have things so planned out. She had always just assumed Will ran head first into situations with an idea of what he wanted to accomplish but no real clue as to how he was going to do it. He had that arrogant air of the young who think they will never die, that rash impulsiveness of someone who always new he would win, no matter what. Tessa thought he had just been extremely lucky thus far. And hopefully his luck hadn't run out just yet.

Will took Tessa's silence as a sign that she had no questions, though in reality her mind was teeming with them, she just couldn't decide upon which of the hundreds to ask.

"Ok, let's go," he said in a hushed voice, though Tessa didn't really have a choice in the matter since he had grabbed her around the wrist and was dragging her clumsily behind him. They darted around the corner and down the hall, Tessa stumbling repeatedly over the hem of her dress but Will somehow managing to keep her upright and moving forward.

"Will," she whispered as loud as she dared to as they careened around another corner, running now at a full out sprint,"are you sure the guards don't know about the secret passageway? Wouldn't the Clave be aware of things like that?"

Will looked back at her over his shoulder, his unruly hair flopping in front of his eyes in the wind, a wide grin plastered on his face. "Well then they wouldn't be _secret_ now would they."

Tessa was about to ask another of her many questions when Will suddenly skidded to a stop, Tessa actually running into his back this time. Then she heard it, two sets of footsteps and murmured voices. Will whipped into action, whirling Tessa around and pushing her into the large indent of a doorway to their left. His body followed hers, crowding her into the crevice in the corner of the door's frame, flattening them both against the side of the door. Will reached behind Tessa and tried the doorknob, finding it locked. He swore softly under his breath. They were both only partially concealed and if whoever was about to walk by only turned their head to the right they would be found out. Tessa prayed whoever was coming was too involved in their conversation to look around much.

Tessa was now kiddy-cornered against the edge of the door and its large frame, her back crushed uncomfortably into the corner and the doorknob pressing hard into her hip. Will was standing directly in front of her, his legs on either side of her own and his body almost caging hers. He was so close that when he breathed in his chest pressed against hers, his breath gliding out against the side of her neck, making her loose curls flutter against her skin. He looked down at her, his eyes wide and perfectly round, mouthing a silent, "shhh."

Tessa gave a tiny nod and closed her eyes, taking the smallest breaths she could manage, trying to shrink into the wall.

Her heart hammered against her chest as the voices got closer. They were familiar voices, both low and male. _Ritecliffe and Blackwell,_ she thought. As they approached she could begin to make out their words.

"…against the law!" Ritecliffe was saying in his anxious, jittery voice.

"The law is for Nephilim, it does not extend to Downworlders," Blackwell responded in a hard voice.

"But we're not even certain what she is! What if it kills her? How would we explain it?"

The footsteps stopped suddenly and Tessa imagined Blackwell turning to face Ritecliffe, towering over him menacingly. "We are the Clave, we answer to no one," Blackwell growled. "We _are_ the law. One little girl will not stand in our way!"

There was a pause and Tessa could almost hear Ritecliffe trembling in fear. When he spoke again it was in a wavering voice.

"But," Ritecliffe stuttered out. "But what if she's telling the truth?"

"She's not. Her parents would not resurface and not contact her," Blackwell answered coldly, his voice beginning to tremble in anger. "She's helping them and lying to our faces about it. She's making a mockery of the Clave! I want the truth and then I want her silenced! Permanently!"

Tessa could hear the pure unadulterated rage in Blackwell's voice, and it made her hands begin to shake. This man was after more than a confession, he was after her life.

The full magnitude of what she was doing now began to sink in. She was running away from the Clave, knowingly disobeying them, an act that would certainly be taken as proof of her guilt. If she was unsuccessful in finding Caldwell and learning the truth to clear her name, she had just signed her death warrant.

She opened her eyes and found Will's big blue orbs staring back at her. His eyes were not gentle, not comforting like Jem's would have been at that moment, but rather filled with fire. They were swirling with a raw determination, blazing the way they only did when he was in a fit of intense passion. They were daring her to feel angry, not broken, to use the fear she felt not as a reason to fall apart, but as a means of finding strength. And somehow it reassured her.

Ritecliffe and Blackwell were continuing on now, passing where she and Will hid without a second glance, their footsteps and voices becoming softer as they rounded the corner and disappeared down the hall.

Will took a step back, disentangling himself from Tessa and stared at her hard. "Do you still want to do this? It's not to late to back out."

"No," Tessa said firmly. "I want to finish this."

Will gave a slight nod. "Ok."

He turned and wordlessly they began moving again. Will wasn't running anymore, but his long strides were so swift that Tessa had to jog to keep up. After almost a minute, Will suddenly came to a stop in front of one of the massive statues that lined the halls. It was a statue of an angel, which one Tessa had no idea, but it was quite the imposing figure, towering fifteen feet over them, its placid gray face staring down at them from high above.

Will reached behind the statue, feeling up and down the wall for something. Tessa was about to ask what he was doing when he seemed find what he was looking for, giving it a little shove. Suddenly the wall behind the statue gave way, pushing back to reveal a small doorway that led into darkness.

Tessa was stunned into silence. "I told you, it's pretty secret," Will said in answer to her surprised expression. He ducked through the doorway, becoming lost in the darkness momentarily before just his head popped back out. "Are you coming?" he asked.

Tessa nodded and hesitantly followed Will into the darkness.

As soon as she passed through the doorway the wall swung back into place, cutting off all light. But just before they were plunged into complete darkness, a bright white light erupted into life, showering herself and everything in a five-foot radius in pale light. Tessa looked around in confusion for a moment before catching sight of Will, standing a few feet away half concealed in darkness, the light glinting off his eyes. He was looking at her, but not at her eyes, rather at her chest. She looked down too and realized that the light was coming from the necklace tied securely around her neck. _Of course._ Tessa thought. _Jem. _

Tessa picked the star-shaped stone up off her chest in awe, twirling it between her fingers and watching the witchlight flash across the walls before glancing up and meeting Will's gaze. "Jem gave it to me," she said in answer to his unasked question.

"I see," Will said stiffly. "Well if you're done admiring your pretty new gift, we really must be going." He turned his back on her and walked forward, bringing his own witchstone out of his pocket and igniting it. Between the two stones there was now enough light for Tessa to make out her surroundings. She found herself in a narrow stone passageway, three feet wide and under six feet tall. Will, up ahead of her, had to crouch down slightly to fit. The walls and floor were made of the same uneven gray stone, dipping in some places and jutting out sharply in others. It looked as though whoever had made the passage had been in a great hurry and had cared little about how it looked. Or how maneuverable it was. The uneven floor kept tripping Tessa, causing her shoulder to bang repeatedly into the sharp edges of the wall. She heard her dress rip after one particularly painful stumble and cursed silently to herself. This was the first time she had worn the dress, and would most likely be the last.

Up ahead Will had stopped and he was crouched over slightly, his face pressed against the wall. Tessa thought perhaps he was going to be sick, but when she finally reached him, rubbing her aching shoulder tenderly, she found him looking though a small peephole in the wall beside a small door that was so well disguised she would have mistaken it for part of the wall had her attention not been drawn to it.

He turned to her, his eyes glinting with excitement. "Ok this is it," he said in a rushed voice. "Outside of this door is the west wall. It takes the guards two minutes to circle the perimeter, that means we have one minute before they see us. They'll be coming from the left, from the driveway. We only have one chance at this. When I say run, you run. Head for the wall and start climbing, understand? Don't stop, don't hesitate, just go." He pressed his eye back to the peephole hurriedly as Tessa tried to process what he had just said.

"Wait, Will, how am I supposed to—"

"Go!" he bellowed, cutting her off and swinging open the door revealing an empty courtyard and an ivy-covered wall ten yards away. He darted out the door, already halfway across the lawn before Tessa had even made it out of the doorway. She dashed after him, making it to the foot of the wall just as Will jumped, landing halfway up the wall among the vines, using them as footing to swing himself up to the top. It had taken him five seconds flat to reach the top of the wall.

Tessa grabbed at the vines that covered the stone wall and gave an uncertain tug, looking up to where Will sat crouched ten feet above her on the top of the wall. The vines hardly seemed secure, but she had no choice. Taking a deep breath she grabbed a vine and began climbing.

She was almost to the top, just a few more steps and she would be safe. She reached for a higher hanging vine, grabbing it and bringing her foot up. But as she stepped down her skirt caught under her shoe, causing it to slip on the slick silk material. She lost her footing, plunging downward, the vines scraping painfully at her arms and face, until suddenly an arm shot out, grabbing her wrist and stopping her fall. Will was leaning over the top of the wall on his stomach, one arm holding her as she dangled helplessly, the other holding himself to the wall. His muscles strained through his shirt as he fought to hold onto her, his jaw clenched in tension. They stayed suspended like that for a moment, both afraid to make any sudden movements lest Will lose his grip. Suddenly the soft crunch of gravel could be heard coming from the driveway. Tessa looked up at Will, fear swirling in her eyes.

"Climb," he grunted out in a strained voice.

And she did. Somehow finding her footing again, Tessa pushed herself up the wall, Will pulling her by the arm until she was just about at the top. With one last tug, Will heaved her up and over the edge.

But she didn't stop. The momentum was too much, crashing her into Will and carrying them both over the opposite edge of the wall and down the other side.

There was the briefest moment of weightlessness before Will landed with a resounding thud in a bush, Tessa landing on top of him a second later.

They stayed like that for a moment, the air knocked our of both of them, before eventually Tessa rolled off of Will and onto her back, groaning as she lay sprawled out next to him.

"Well I don't know what you're groaning about, you landed on me," Will grunted out in a strained voice.

Both just laid there, chests heaving, pieces of ivy and leaves fluttering around their heads until eventually settling on the ground.

"Anything broken?" Will asked finally.

"I don't think so," Tessa moaned out. "Though I doubt that bush will ever look the same."

She heard Will chuckle softly next to her. There was a soft rustling and then his face suddenly appeared over hers. There were twigs and pieces of bush stuck in his messy hair, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. A goofy grin was plastered on his face. "Not my smoothest escape to date, I must admit, but I'll take it." He extended his hand down to her, offering to help her up.

Tessa took a deep breath, grabbing his hand and wincing slightly as he hoisted her up to the standing position. "I'm going to be black and blue tomorrow," she sighed.

"I can nurse you back to health if you like," Will grinned at her. "I do everything, sponge baths, fully body massages, tension relief—"

"Can we just keep moving please?" Tessa cut him off.

"Certainly," Will said, the grin never leaving his face. "Though my offer still stands."

He led them out from the bushes and onto the cobbled sidewalk, Tessa grumbling in irritation while trying to remove all the twigs from her hair. The walk to Blockard's Tavern was a short one, taking them only a few minutes. The tavern seemed deserted, though it was still daylight hours. Tessa supposed that its real business came when the sun had set and the creatures of the night came out to prowl the streets of London. She was certain that in a few hours time, this exact spot would be crawling with life, not all of which would be human.

But Tessa wasn't thinking about the deserted tavern anymore because there, parked directly in front just as Will had said it would be was the carriage. Tessa sighed in relief at the sight of it. Though she knew she would soon be going to a place possibly even more dangerous than the Institute had now become, the carriage offered a momentary reprieve, a small calm before the storm.

Will walked up the side of the carriage, heading to the drivers seat, Tessa close behind. "Timothy, we're here," he called out to the driver as he reached the front. "We're ready to g—" He cut off, eyes going wide. Tessa was about to ask him what was wrong when she saw what had caused his reaction, her mouth falling open.

There, sitting in the drivers seat with his top hat and golden cane, was Jem.

"You didn't really think I'd let you two go off without me and miss all the fun, did you?" he asked, grinning down at them.

Will's look of astonishment transformed into a large smile, his eyes lighting up. He gave a loud laugh, jumping up into the drivers seat next to Jem, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Well done!" he exclaimed. "Very well done!"

Jem smiled back at him, his brows suddenly furrowing as he took his Will's appearance. "I must say, it seems my escape from the Institute went much more smoothly than yours."

"Nonesense," Will scoffed. "We just took a slight detour through the garden. The shrubbery is lovely this time of year." He eyed Jem suspiciously. "How _did_ you get out?"

"I walked out the front door," Jem answered simply. "No one stopped me. I don't think they pay particularly close attention to Shadowhunters with disabilities. They don't suspect I'd go out of my way to go find trouble."

"How little they know you," Will grinned.

"Indeed," he smiled back. His eyes then shifted behind Will to where Tessa stood, watching them silently. "Tessa," he said, inclining his head to her in a gentle greeting, a soft smile spreading across his face.

"Hello Jem," Tessa replied, shooting him a smile of her own.

"Right then," Will said eagerly, "let's go find out how this whole mess got started, shall we?"


	8. Chapter 8: Caldwell

**Don't own anything that Cassandra Clare invented. Here's a quick little chapter. This and the next were originally one, but I decided to split them up. Hope you like it. Reviews are always nice!**

**Chapter 8: To Caldwell**

Tessa had never really enjoyed carriages, though she preferred them to boats and trains. Long rides in them always left her feeling dizzy and nauseous. Every bump in the road and rattle of the wind felt as if she were the carriage herself, shaking her down to her bones. She would have liked to have sat out on the driver's bench, that way she would at least have been outside with fresh air and changing scenery. But instead she found herself alone in the cramped interior of the carriage cab, rattling sourly through the streets of London. Both Will and Jem were out on the drivers bench but they had insisted that Tessa stay safely in the cab. She had put up a good fight, but in the end the combined wills of Will and Jem had overpowered her own and she had conceded, climbing sulkily into the cab and sitting with a huff.

They had been traveling for over twenty minutes, whipping through the winding narrow streets. Tessa had no idea where they were going and when she had asked Will all he had unhelpfully said was, "To Caldwell." Tessa peaked under the curtain that covered the small window on the carriage door and found that it had begun to rain lightly, small raindrops streaking across the dirty glass. Tessa smirked to herself, picturing a dripping wet Will and Jem standing next to herself perfectly dry. _Serves them right_.

She instantly felt guilty for her thought and scolded herself mentally for even thinking it. They were both just trying to protect her, risking their own lives to help. For some reason, they both seemed to care, more than anyone had ever cared about her before. The two Shadowhunter boys were quickly becoming the closest thing to family she had. No matter what happened with Caldwell, no matter what she found out about her true parents, Tessa knew that Will and Jem and everyone else at the Institute were her true home.

A sharp rapping at the opposite carriage window startled Tessa out of her thoughts. Confused, she drew closer to the window, pulling back the curtain slowly and jumping back with a small gasp of surprise. There, bobbing up and down outside the window, was Will's face.

Tessa quickly rushed over to the door, swinging it open with some difficulty. Rain and wind sprayed up at her as she shouted out at Will. "Will! What are you doing?"

He was hanging to the side of the carriage, swung halfway from the driver's bench and the door Tessa was now looking out. His jacket flapped wildly around him in the wind and his hair was flying out in every direction, but he had a huge grin on his face.

"Mind if I come in?" he called out.

Tessa gave a stunned nod and moved to the other side of the cab, giving him space to enter. He swung easily into the carriage, slamming the door shut behind him and sinking lazily into the seat opposite Tessa.

Rain was dripping from his hair and clothes already forming a small puddle on the floor of the cab. He shook his head, spraying Tessa and the rest of the cab in water, while wringing out the cuffs of his jacket.

Tessa wiped beads of water from her face, staring disbelievingly at Will. "I swear you have a death wish."

"It's not a wish really," Will grinned, pushing the wet hair that had fallen in front of his eyes to the side absentmindedly. "More of a dare."

Tessa rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "So what is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we're almost there," Will said simply.

Tessa perked up, leaning forward slightly on the seat. "To where Caldwell is? And where is that exactly?"

Will eyed her, leaning farther back into the cushions of his seat. "We're heading to a very bad part of London, a part where young girls shouldn't really venture to."

"I'm not a young girl," Tessa said obstinately, sticking her chin up in a defiant manner. After a moment she realized how childish she must look, and lowered her chin, finishing in a softer voice. "I can take care of myself."

"Under normal circumstances I would say that you were right," Will said in a surprisingly sincere voice. He leaned forward, staring into Tessa's eyes. "But these are not normal people, Tessa. They aren't _even_ people. You're still new to the shadow world, you don't understand just how dangerous it can get."

"I think I understand better than most just how dangerous it can get," Tessa said in a firm voice. Thomas, Nate, Henry, everything that had happened flashed like a whirlwind through her mind. Will's eyes shot to her own, a slight look of surprise in his eyes.

"Tessa—" he said quietly, his eyes softening. "That's not what I meant, I know you understand. It's just—I just—" His big blue eyes drilled into her own, something flashing in their depths that Tessa had only seen on rare occasions. "I worry about you."

Tessa didn't know how to respond. She was taken aback by Will's confession, her mouth hanging slightly open as she tried to think of something, anything, to say.

Will's eyes widened as he realized what he had said, a look crossing his face as if someone had just slapped him. He leaned back quickly, his face once again resuming a mask of indifference.

"Will—," Tessa began, but he cut her off abruptly.

"You're always getting yourself into trouble," he said, his voice hard and icy. "As if I don't have enough to think about, now I always have to worry about how I'm going to get you out of the next stupid mess you walk into."

Tessa's breath caught. Will's cruel words dug deep, hitting at bone. She dropped her eyes to the ground, hoping to conceal the water that was building in them.

Will sat frozen in his seat, berating himself mentally. He couldn't seem to say anything right. "Tessa," he said slowly, "I didn't mean that either, I—"

"No, you're right," she said softly still staring down at her lap. "I do always get myself into trouble and drag you all with me. I don't even know why I came with you today."

Will leaned forward, pressing two fingers under her chin and raising it up until she was looking into his eyes. "You're here because we can't do this without you," he said firmly, his eyes staring steadfast into her own. "You're the key to all of this, to the magister, to your parents, to everything. We need you more than you need us."

"I doubt that very much," Tessa said with a soft sniffle.

"It's true. We need you, and not just because of Mortmain and that whole mess. Charlotte and Henry, and even Jessamine, they're very fond of you. And Jem and myself—we're very fond of you too."

Tessa couldn't believe it, but it appeared that Will was actually blushing. Just a slight tinge of pink dashed high on his cheekbones, but it was enough to convince her of his sincerity. She shot him a small smile, speaking softly. "Thanks Will."

He gave a tiny nod before leaning back again. "Besides," he said, his usual arrogant voice returning, "saving you from the clutches of evil time after time is a real ego boost."

Tessa actually laughed at that, settling herself back in the cushions of her seat.

"It would have been such a waste if you had said no to coming with me," he continued. "All those hours I spent in Downworlder bars trying to track down Caldwell. Did you know that a Pixie RumBite is _not_ a drink? I wish I had known that before I ordered it. I still have marks."

Tessa's eyes shot to Will. "That's where you disappeared to after dinner," she said in realization, ignoring the last part of his statement. "And why you showed up late when Charlotte and Henry came back after they were attacked. You had been out searching for Caldwell."

"And let me tell you, he is not an easy man to find, especially when he knows that the entire Clave is looking for him," Will replied.

"So how did you find him?" Tessa asked.

"I am extremely…persistent," Will smirked. "I always find what I'm looking for."

"Well, thank you," Tessa said earnestly.

"Don't thank me yet. You may live to regret this whole thing." He paused a moment. "Assuming we live, that is."

The carriage suddenly came to an abrupt stop, jerking Tessa forward. After a moment, the carriage door was wrenched open, a sopping wet Jem grinning at them from under his dripping silver hair. "We're here."

"Excellent," Will said, the excitement brimming in his voice. He hopped from the carriage swiftly, landing smoothly on his feet.

Tessa moved to the door, looking out into the pounding rain. They were parked on some dark side street where there were few people milling about. It seemed to be a mostly residential area, filled with old crumbling apartments that had seen better days. Rats scurried past on the cobbled sidewalk, running to get out of the rain that was quickly filling up the streets. Tessa ducked out of the carriage, readying herself for the onslaught of rain, but it never came. She looked up found an umbrella held high above her head, the arm attached to the umbrella belonging to Jem. He smiled up at her, holding his arm out to help her down the steps.

She accepted it gratefully and they hurried after Will who was walking up to one of the more dilapidated buildings. He took out his stele and discreetly carved an opening rune onto the door just above it's knob. It swung open just as Tessa and Jem reached Will's side and all three glanced at each other before darting through the door.

Inside was an enclosed corridor lined with old wooden doors, each with a crumbling number nailed to the top. The gas lamps lining the walls flickered in the gust of wind that entered with them, casting dark shadows on the walls. The whole building made Tessa uncomfortable, like dark things dwelt in the dark corners. Will led them down the hall to the very end, stopping in front of a door with the number seven posted above it.

"This is him," he said in a low voice. He turned to Tessa. "Stay behind me and Jem. Let us do the talking until we know it's safe."

She as about to object but Jem laid a soft hand on her shoulder, looking down at her kindly. "It's for the best," he said gently.

Tessa gave a reluctant nod and stepped behind them as Will raised his fist and gave three sharp knocks on the door.

The sound echoed down the empty hall, and then silence ensued. There was no sound from behind the door.

"Maybe he's not home," Tessa whispered.

"He's here," Will answered, knocking again, more loudly this time.

After a brief pause, the door snapped open a crack, a wrinkled blue eye staring at them through the gap. "What do you want?" a low grizzled voice asked.

"We want to talk," Will said in a hard voice.

"And who are you?" the man asked, his eye narrowing slightly.

"Someone who's looking for some answers. Answers from you, Caldwell."

The man froze, his eye widening infinitesimally. "You got the wrong guy," the man growled out. "My name's not Caldwell. Never heard of him." He went to close the door, but Will's hand shot out, stopping it.

"We know who you are, and we need to talk," Will said again.

The man glanced down at Will's arm, freezing on where Will's shirtsleeve had ridden up a little, showing the dark marks winding up his forearm. "Shadowhunter," the man hissed out, his eyes widening as they flashed up to Will's. "The Clave can't touch me! I've done nothing wrong!" he exclaimed before trying unsuccessfully to shove the door closed against Will's firm grip.

Will leaned forward, his face only inches from the man's. "We're not here with the Clave," he said in a dangerously low voice.

"Go away!" the man yelled. "Go away, I don't know anything!" He threw his whole weight against the door, catching Will off guard. The door began to shut.

"Wait! Mr. Caldwell, please!" Tessa yelled, shoving her way in front of Will and Jem. The man looked into Tessa's eyes and froze. Tessa, seeing she had his attention, continued. "I need your help. My name is—"

"Tessa Gray," the man finished for her. He opened the door wider, revealing his whole body. He was older than Tessa had thought initially, completely gray haired and wrinkled. He was slightly hunched over and was firmly gripping a cane in one hand. His watery blue eyes stared hard into hers. "You look just like your mother."

Tessa's breath caught, a large lump forming in her throat despite herself.

Caldwell took a step back from the door, opening it completely. "Won't you come in?"


	9. Chapter 9: New Blood

**Don't know if this chapter answers any questions, or just creates more. But it will all make sense in the end, I promise! The reviews have been so great, thank you all so much to everyone taking the time to give me a little feedback, it's greatly appreciated. **

**Chapter 9: New Blood**

The interior of Caldwell's apartment was overwhelmingly cramped, filled with weird trinkets and odd devices the likes of which Tessa had never seen before. Every surface was covered with sheets of loose leaf paper, piled high and scribbled all over with tiny script that Tessa couldn't quite make out. It didn't appear to be English. Large books were scattered in among all the papers, their pages also covered in the same foreign script.

It was cold in the apartment, almost as cold as if Tessa were still outside, and there was a strong draft. Tessa's hair actually blew slightly in the wind that gusted through the cracks in the crumbling walls. In the center of the room, buried among the piles of scattered papers, was a large wooden bucket that was almost filled to the top with water that was dripping down from the ceiling.

Tessa, Jem, and Will stuck close together as they walked farther into the room as Caldwell attempted to clear off the couch and chairs from the clutter.

"How charming," Will said in a light voice, his eyes following a particularly large rat as it scurried across the floor.

"Yes, well, I have to move around a lot," Caldwell answered, snapping a massive book with a large rune on its cover closed and shoving it under a massive pile of papers on the floor. "I've made a lot of enemies over the years."

Caldwell looked around, eyeing his work in satisfaction. He looked up at his guests, a triumphant smile on his old withered face. "Won't you have a seat?" He motioned to the dilapidated couch.

All three hesitated. The couch looked as if it would not support one of them, let alone all three. It's velvet covering was torn in places, stuffing pouring out, and a greenish substance was growing on the edge of the cushions. Eventually Tessa stepped forward, smiling at Caldwell. "Thank you very much," she said politely, moving towards the couch and shooting Jem and Will looks to follow.

Jem followed quickly after Tessa, sitting delicately down on the couch, it moaning slightly under his small weight. Will walked slowly to the couch, poking it with the toe of his boot before he gave a small sniff of indignation and perched himself barely on its edge.

Now settled, Tessa looked up expectantly at Caldwell and found him sitting across from them in a large ratty armchair, his small eyes staring intently at her. His look was slightly unnerving, like he was searching her face for something, looking for some sort of clue. Tessa took a deep breath, deciding to break the silence.

"You knew my parents?" she asked in a small voice.

Caldwell didn't say anything for a moment, just continued to stare at her, his blue eyes never blinking. Eventually he spoke, his voice thick and gravely.

"I _know_ your parents, my dear. I saw them only four days ago."

Tessa's heart began to beat faster, hammering against her ribcage.

"And they're here? In London?" Her voice was rising slightly in anticipation.

Caldwell didn't answer this time, he simply stared harder at her, taking his time. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, thick with memory.

"You look so much like her, your mother. When you showed up at my door just now I thought I had been transported back twenty years to when your mother showed up on my doorstep in much the same way, asking for my help."

"She—she asked for your help?" Tessa asked, the knot in her stomach growing. "Why?"

"She needed help disappearing, both herself, your father, and their little boy." His watery eyes bore into Tessa's. "There had been a terrible accident, something that had changed everything. And she said she needed to protect you."

"Why?" Tessa asked eagerly. She was right there, she could feel it, just out of reach of the key to everything. "What was the accident? What happened?" She was so close, one more sentence and everything would fall into place.

Caldwell blinked for the first time, his eyes dropping down to look at the floor. "I don't know. She never told me."

"What do you mean she never told you?" It was Will speaking this time, incredulity in his voice.

"She never told me what happened, only what _would_ happen if I didn't help her," Caldwell said, his eyes flashing to Will's before returning to Tessa's. "She said that she had had an accident and that something was happening to her, something that she didn't completely understand herself. Something that she feared would be passed onto to her yet unborn child."

"Me?" Tessa gasped. "She was pregnant with me when the accident happened?"

Caldwell nodded.

"But you have no idea what this accident was?" Will asked again, a tinge of skepticism in his voice.

"She wouldn't tell me, even when I asked. She said it was for my own good, that if the Clave came looking, the less I knew the more protected I'd be."

"But why did she think the Clave would come looking?" Jem asked, speaking up for the first time. "Tessa's parents were mundanes, they knew little to nothing about the shadow world. How did she even know about the Clave?"

"She knew a great deal about the Clave. About its shaky treaty with Downworlders, the intolerance and hypocrisy of its laws, and of its insatiable greed for power. She knew it better than most. And she feared it." Caldwell's eyes moved from Jem's back to Tessa's. "My dear, when I knew your parents they were not Robert and Elizebeth Gray, they were Robert and Elizabeth Clareview, and they were Shadowhunters."

Silence filled the room.

"But—but that's not possible," Tessa stuttered out, her brow knitting together in confusion. "If they were Shadowhunters, that means that I would be too, but I'm not. I can't bear marks."

Caldwell sighed. "No, no you're not a Shadowhunter and I fear that is where I come into play." His eyes bore into her own, a sort of anxious pleading in them. "You must understand, when she came to me she was desperate, wild with fear. She begged me to help her, to do everything I could to take her away from this life. Permanently."

Tessa heard Will gasp beside her. "You didn't—"

"She begged me to!" Caldwell exclaimed, tears filling his already watery eyes. "I had been retired for almost twenty years, but I took up my stele one last time." He was shaking is head now, his eyes lowered to the floor. "I swore it was the last thing I would ever do with it."

"I don't understand," Tessa said, looking back and forth between Will, and Jem, both of which had stunned and horrified looks on their faces. "What did he do?"

"There's only one way unmake a Shadowhunter," Jem said in a soft voice, the eyes that flicked up to meet hers filled with grief. "You must first strip them of their marks, and then—and then strip their blood of all angel blood. You must, essentially, give them new blood."

Caldwell gave a shuddering sob, tears rolling down his wrinkled cheeks.

"It's an agonizing process," Will spoke in a low voice. "The stripping of the marks is bad enough, but the stripping of the blood is something that few survive. The potion you have to ingest literally burns the angel blood out of you."

"I told her I wouldn't do it," Caldwell wailed in agony. "Especially not when she was pregnant. It had never been done before on someone with child, there was no way to know what affect it would have on the baby. But she said it was the only way to save you all!"

"And Nate?" Tessa asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Caldwell's pained eyes met hers. "He was so young. He barely remembered it when he got older."

Tessa sat completely still, stunned into immobility. She couldn't even blink, all she could do was stare back at Caldwell.

"It's illegal to perform a stripping on someone so young," Will stated, ice in his voice.

"It's illegal to perform a stripping on anyone at all without the consent of the Clave!" Caldwell exclaimed in a frenzied voice. "I know the law, Shadowhunter. But sometimes exceptions must be made." He hung his head again, shaking it slightly. "After that I went deeper into the underground, associating less and less with Nephilim and more with Downworlders, giving the Clave tips into illegal schemes every now and then to keep them off my back. They never did find out what happened to Robert and Elizabeth Clareview. Shadowhunters disappear sometimes, go rogue and what not. Your parents fell to the bottom of a long list of missing Shadowhunters, forgotten in less than a decade."

"And Tessa," Will asked. "What affects did the stripping have one her?"

"It would appear it had the desired affects," Caldwell answered, eyeing Tessa again. "She is not a Shadowhunter, she cannot bear marks." He paused momentarily. "Though we cannot be certain there were not a few—side effects."

"Side effects?" Tessa asked in a shaky voice.

"I have no clue as to what they may be," Caldwell replied hastily. "But you are a unique being, Tessa Clareview. None have endured what you have, none have been given new blood while still in the womb. It is all very curious."

Caldwell's gaze began to make Tessa uncomfortable. His eyes had lost their remorse and instead looked hard and shrewd, looking at her like an interesting new toy.

"And the accident," she asked, straightening up slightly and trying to make her face a mask of indifference. "They faked the carriage accident?"

"Ah yes," Caldwell said, folding his hands into his lap, "the accident. Three years after they left me, transformed into mundanes, I got a letter from a Robert and Elizabeth Gray asking for my assistance once again. They said that you were no longer safe, something had happened but they wouldn't say what, and that they had to leave you to protect you. And so I helped them one last time. I faked the accident, glamored the bodies I dug up from a random grave to look like your parents, and left you and your brother with the nanny Harriet. Your parents disappears once again and I returned to London, hoping to never see your parents again."

"Aunt Harriet wasn't actually my aunt?" Tessa gasped.

"My dear, of all the information you've been given this evening, _that_ is what shocks you the most?" Caldwell asked disbelievingly.

"Well, no, it's just—it's just things are so different now, everything is so different." Tessa's brow furrowed in thought. She was so lost, she couldn't process everything she was being told.

"We must all reach that point, where the disillusionment of youth wears down and the truth shines through," Caldwell sighed. "Reality is much less kind than the fairy tales spun by fearful adults who wish to protect their young. Life is painful."

"Only because people like you make it that way," Will said, his voice cold as ice.

Caldwell turned to look at Will, a surprised look on his face. "But I only tried to help," he said in defense. " I only had Tessa's best interest in—"

But Will was having none of it. His eyes were fierce, closed into dangerous slits. "And why were you so willing to help her parents?" he asked, cutting Caldwell off. "You risked your life for them, more than once. What did you get out of it?"

"I didn't ask for anything in return," Caldwell growled, his voice suddenly taking on a hard edge. "I was connected to their family, for a very long time. I knew Elizabeth's mother, back when we were young. We grew up together." His voice softened slightly, his eyes misting over in memory. "You and your mother look so much like her. Same eyes, same long hair, same innate gentleness." He paused, his voice dropping to just above a whisper. "She was a wonderful woman. One of the few women I ever loved."

"Did you know my mother well?" Tessa asked in a quiet voice. Despite all that she now knew, despite knowing that her mother and father were still alive, she had trouble referring to them in the present tense. It wouldn't be real until she saw their faces.

"Not nearly as well as I would have liked," Caldwell sighed.

Tessa paused for a moment, deep in thought, before she continued in the same soft voice. "Mr. Caldwell, how did Mortmain know about the Clave's attack?"

Caldwell hung his head low again, shaking it. "I don't know, I don't know. The information was good, it came straight from your parents' mouths! Four days ago, they showed up on my doorstep and asked me to deliver a message to the London Institute, said that it was urgent. I didn't know it would end like that!"

Will shot Jem a look, a look Tessa knew she was not meant to see. But she did see it, and she knew what it meant. Caldwell appeared to be telling the truth, and that meant only one thing; Tessa's parent's had actually set the Clave up for attack.

Caldwell had also caught the look and he was now looking back and forth between Will and Jem in confusion. "You can't possibly think—Robert and Elizabeth disliked the Clave, yes, but they would never—no certainly not."

"Mr. Caldwell, we need to find Tessa's parents." Jem said, his voice gentle but urgent. "We need to find out directly from them what happened before the Clave does. Do you know where we can find them?"

Caldwell's eyes flashed up to meet his in a dazed sort of confusion, his thoughts clearly still elsewhere. "They would never tell me where they were staying," he answered in a slow voice. "It was to protect me as much as them."

Will swore softly under his breath, leaning back on the couch in frustration. Tessa and Jem shared disappointed looks.

"But," Caldwell continued, "I do have an address they gave me, a long time ago. It's for a warlock, Vincent Deuschel, he's the one that mixed the stripping potion for them. He's the only other person they trusted with their secret, their only other friend." Caldwell had crossed the room and was fumbling through the papers that were scattered across the tabletop. After a moment he produced ink and a quill and began scrawling something on a loose sheet of paper. "I don't know if he still lives there, it was over sixteen years ago. But it's worth a shot."

He folded the piece of paper and handed it to Tessa, staring down at her behind wrinkled, watery eyes.

"I hope you find everything you're looking for," he said softly, reaching out and taking one of her hands into his own. He shook it warmly.

Tessa rose from the couch, Will and Jem rising next to her. "Thank you Mr. Caldwell, for everything."

He nodded slightly and released her hand, turning and hobbling back over to his worn chair, slumping down into it.

Tessa, Jem, and Will moved towards the door, Will stopping just before he passed Caldwell's wilting form and speaking in a hard voice. "We'll be in touch."

Caldwell didn't look up, just continued staring off into space, his eyes misted over again with the memory of the past.

All three stole through the door quickly, Will snapping it shut behind him with a large sigh of relief. "I don't know about you, but found that man to be extremely weird," he said, dusting invisible dirt from his clothing. "And he has horrendous cleanliness habits."

But Tessa wasn't listening, she was still back in Caldwell's apartment, still mulling over everything that had just been said. She looked up suddenly at the two boys standing before her, shoving the piece of paper with the address scribbled across it at Jem. "How far away is this? How long will it take us to get there?" she asked in a rushed voice.

Jem took the paper haltingly, glancing down at the address and then back up to Tessa. "It's on the east side of London, by the river. It's about fifteen minutes away, but Tessa, I really think we should find out more about this man before we just walk through the front door. It could be extremely dangerous." He glanced at Will, looking for help in convincing her, but Will remained silent. "We don't know anything about Vincent Deuschel, I've never even heard of him. I think we should wait."

"No," Tessa said firmly. "I'm done waiting. I want this finished, now. We go to find Vincent Deuschel, right now."

Jem opened his mouth to protest, but Will cut him off. "It's settled then. We head out now."

Will had that fire in his eyes, the look Jem recognized as the one he always got before a good demon hunt, reckless and wild and impulsive. It made his nervous. This was not the time to jump blindly into danger, not with Tessa here.

But all he could do was sigh in surrender. "Fine. But if this backfires epically, don't say I didn't warn you all."

"We've been warned," Will grinned, the fire flashing up again. "Now let's pay Mr. Deuschel a little visit."


	10. Chapter 10: Reckless

**So, I suppose I owe a really big apology for my not so mini hiatus I took. I only intended it to last two weeks, but here we are three months later. Anyway, I'm really sorry, life has a habit of happening when you least expect it. But I do still intend on finishing this story and updating (hopefully) regularly. I wrote the first half of this chapter three months ago and then got stuck and stopped for a while. I started writing again today and couldn't stop, thus the monster chapter. But at least it's done. Hopefully it doesn't read as choppy as it was to write. A big thanks to ShadowhuntingNephilim123 for gently nudging me to keep writing. This chapter is the result of you. Thanks!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Reckless <strong>

Tessa was having an increasing sense of déjà vu. She was back in the carriage, rattling through the streets of London, rain pounding loudly on the roof. Only this time, instead of Will it was a soaking wet Jem that sat across from her.

He stared at her from beneath his long silver lashes, droplets of water falling from their tips every time he blinked. He was holding his top hat in his hands, twirling it slowly with his fingers. Tessa knew he wanted desperately to say something to her, that he was holding himself back. He was waiting for her to make the first move and break the silence.

She gave a soft sigh. "Is there something you want to ask me Jem?"

He stopped twirling the hat, placing it delicately on his lap and folding his hands together on its top. His silver eyes were piercing, but his voice was soft when he spoke. "I'm just wondering how you're getting on is all. Is everything ok?"

"I'm fine," Tessa answered curtly. Her jaw was clenched and lips pushed tightly together in a thin line. She felt as if she opened her mouth any wider, if she tried talking to Jem, she would lose it and wouldn't be able to stop. She was keeping her entire body tense, every muscle frozen tightly in place. It was her way of holding it together. Because if she was perfectly honest with herself, she was far from fine.

Jem leaned forward, pushing his hat aside and placing a slender hand atop Tessa's gloved one. His brow was furrowed in concern and his voice pleading. "Tessa, you don't have to do this. Not now. I can find you a safe place to hide while me and Will find Deuschel. It doesn't have to be you who goes, it shouldn't be you."

"Of course it has to be me," Tessa responded, a note of incredulity in her voice. "It's always had to be me. This is my life, Jem, I won't stand in the background any longer, not with something this important. I want the truth. After seventeen years, I deserve the truth."

"But not this way." Jem's voice was rising, his eyes growing wider and his carefully cool demeanor crumbling. "Not this way Tessa, it's too dangerous. Me and Will seek out danger for a living. It was the life that was decided for us, and we both accept that. But you, you can do so much more, live so much more. This life wasn't meant for you, and watching you getting dragged into it is…it's…" He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I feel that it will be the end of you, Tessa, and that kills me."

Tessa stared hard at Jem. His eyes, always so cool and calm, were wild with emotion she had never seen before. His silver hair had fallen in front of his eyes but he hadn't seemed to notice. Tessa had never seen him so unkempt before, so close to being out of control. She had seen this type of uncontrollable passion from Will, almost expected it from him. But Jem being out of control was different, it was unnerving. "This life is meant for me," she answered coolly, slipping her hand out from under Jem's grasp and placing it on the seat beside her. "Or have you forgotten already? I was once a Shadowhunter like you, or at least was meant to be one. But that was taken away from me. And now I intend to find out why."

Jem was shaking his head, his brow still knitted tightly together in thought. "This is wrong, I can feel it. Something about all of this just doesn't make sense. We're being impulsive, reckless, we're not thinking things through." His eyes flashed up to Tessa's and she saw real fear in them. "We're missing something, something important. And I fear that when we find out what that something is, it will be too late."

"You can't scare me out of doing this, Jem," Tessa responded, though she had to admit, Jem's behavior was beginning to unnerve her. It was not like Jem to use cheap tricks like play-acting to get his way. Whatever was making Jem so troubled was real.

He leaned forward again, picking Tessa's hand up from off of the bench and clutching it in his own two hands. His voice was urgent, uneven with emotion. "Tessa, please. I'm begging you, don't—"

The carriage door was wrenched open, causing both Jem and Tessa to jump. Neither had noticed that the carriage had stopped moving and was now parked on an empty street. Will was standing in the doorway, water running rapids down his entire body but a grin still plastered on his face. "We have arrived," he said, barely concealing the excitement and anticipation from his voice. He stopped suddenly, looking back and forth between Jem and Tessa for a moment, taking in Jem's concern and Tessa's look of alarm. "Have I missed something terribly important?" he asked slowly, his eyes still darting back and forth between the two.

Tessa glanced quickly at Jem, catching his eyes that were still silently pleading with her. She hesitated only a second longer before taking a deep breath and turning back to Will. "No," she answered. "We're ready."

Will eyed Tessa for a moment before switching his gaze to Jem. But Jem had dropped his eyes to his lap, a defeated look crossing his face. "Right," Will said slowly. "Well I suppose the time has come to meet this mysterious Vincent Deuschel. Shall we?"

He held his arm out to Tessa and helped her down from the carriage and into the pounding rain. This time, Jem was not there to hold the umbrella over her head and the assault of cold rain was so shocking it almost stopped her breath. Each freezing drop felt like a tiny knife digging into her skin, cutting her deep to her core. She was drenched in seconds.

The rain was so heavy Tessa could only see a couple feet in front of her, the rest was a distorted blur. But even with out seeing it, she knew the street was deserted. It felt empty and isolated, despite the street being nestled in the heart of London. A shiver ran down her spine, her heart rate picking up to match that of the pounding of the rain.

As they drew closer to the buildings lining the street, Tessa could better see the worn down houses. They were massive, and Tessa could tell that at one time they had been luxurious and grand. In its prime, this neighborhood must have been the most fashionable place to live. But now, abandoned and neglected, the buildings were slowly decaying, their past splendor collapsing into a forgotten ruin.

Tessa hurried up the crumbling stairs of a particularly dilapidated unit and stood next to Will, her shoulders hunched against the driving rain. Will was pounding on the old cracked door, but with little success. Each knock echoed down the empty block, all unanswered. It seemed more likely that the door would fall off its rusty hinges from Will's aggressive pounding than its owner come to answer it.

"Don't knock so loudly, you'll wake the neighbors!" Tessa said in a hushed whisper, glancing over her shoulder half expecting to see angry heads popping out of windows and doors to tell them to quiet down. But the street remained empty.

Will turned to her, his eyebrows raised. "Neighbors?" he asked, a note of amusement in his voice. "I don't think Mr. Deuschel has had any neighbors in quite a long time." He paused, turning back to the door. "At least not human ones."

Tessa shook her head in confusion, water flying from the ends of her hair. "What does that—"

But Will was already extracting his stele from his belt and bending over the doorknob, obscuring her view. After a moment the door swung open, letting out a gust of dry, stale air. Will grinned at her, then turned without a word and disappeared into the darkness of the house.

Tessa hesitated a moment, weighing her trepidation about entering a dark, crumbling, seemingly abandoned house against her desire to escape the relentless rain. The temptation of a dry room won out, and she took a faltering step through the doorway. Will's opening rune was still flaming bright on the door as she passed through, giving off a faint light enough for her to see a couple feet in front of her.

The smell hit her immediately, making her cough and gag slightly. It was a musty, sour smell, like decaying life. Not human life, but something else, something oddly metallic and floral at the same time. Tessa covered her nose and mouth with her hand, desperately trying to block out the smell.

Suddenly a white handkerchief appeared before her eyes.

"Here, take this." It was Jem holding the handkerchief out to her. "It's sprinkled with perfume. Hold it over your mouth, it will help with the smell."

"Thank you," Tessa said in a small, gagged voice, quickly taking the white cloth and holding it over her mouth. She took a deep breath, breathing in the sweet smell in relief. The smell was familiar and comforting, like coming home. It smelled like fresh apples mixed with something else, some sort of spice, something exotic. It took Tessa a moment to place the smell before she realized why it was so familiar. It smelled like Jem.

She continued a few paces into the darkness next to Jem, her witch stone necklace bursting into life just before they were engulfed in complete black. Both Tessa and Jem looked down at the necklace, startled by its brilliance.

"It truly does suit you," Jem said in a small voice. "Like it was made just for you. It never burned that brightly for me, or anyone else. But for you, it's as bright as the Sun itself."

Tessa looked up into Jem's eyes, suddenly ashamed of how she had acted towards him in the carriage. She had let her desperation to find her parents cloud her judgment. Jem was not the bad guy, he was just looking out for her, more than she was looking out for herself. He was one of her closest friends and she had treated him as coldly as if he were Mortmain himself.

"Jem," Tessa said, turning to face him completely. "What I said in the carriage, I didn't mean that. Well I did mean it, but not like that." She sighed, frustrated at her inability to put her feelings into words. "What I mean to say is, I understand what you were trying to do, what you_ are_ trying to do, and if I was any smarter or more sensible, I would listen to you." She gave short laugh, looking down at her feet. "I'm behaving as recklessly as Will. I know I am."

Jem took a small step forward, placing a soft hand beneath her chin, gently pushing her head up until their eyes connected. "You're not reckless, you're passionate. There's a difference." He dropped her chin and took a step back. "Besides, you're nothing like Will. He's much more annoying, and far less pretty."

Tessa was thankful for the poor lighting in the room at that moment, hoping that it hid her now crimson cheeks from Jem. But he had turned anyway, now facing the empty darkness of the room before them.

Together they stepped in deeper, the combined light of their witch stones casting the room in just enough eerie white light to make out its contents.

They stood in a grand entryway, almost as grand as that of the Institute had it not been crumbling into decay. Half of the banister had fallen from the massive marble staircase and was now laying in a jumbled mess in the middle of the floor. Dead leaves and dirt covered the granite floors, crunching under Tessa's feet as she walked deeper into the room. High above her head, a massive chandelier still hung precariously, cobwebs interlacing through each dangling crystal. Tessa closed her eyes, imagining what the room must have looked like in its prime, how breathtakingly beautiful it must have been when the setting sun's rays would catch on the chandeliers crystals, bouncing its sparkling light around the room.

She opened her eyes again, finding instead dirt and grime and decay. "I don't understand," she said, inspecting a withering wood face carving etched into the base of the banister, the nose and chin almost completely eroded away. "Why would they let something this beautiful just waste away into nothing? This whole neighborhood, just left to rot. What happened?"

"The whole street has been abandoned since the mid 17th century," Jem answered coming to stand beside her. "It used to be the Mayfair of London, highly exclusive and well bred. Only the wealthiest and most well known Londoners lived in these homes. But the Black Death didn't discriminate among the classes. When the plague hit in 1665, this street was devastated by the disease. It ran rampant within the community. Dukes and Doctors and Judges all fell to the sickness. Entire bloodlines were wiped out in a matter of months." He ran his hand over the crumbling face in the banister, dust and bits of wood falling away with his hand. "For some reason the disease could not be eradicated from this street, no matter how much they medicated and quarantined. Rumors began to spread in the lower classes that it was God's work, that the rich were being punished for their greed and extravagance. Those who had not yet died from the disease were shunned, avoided at all costs. London's highest socialites, excommunicated and forced to live out the rest of their lives in the shadows."

"That's horrible," Tessa said in a trembling voice. Suddenly the decaying house was not only sad, but terrifying, like the house itself was one of the diseased, slowly dying away in the shadows, shunned and forgotten.

"When the disease finally left London, only three families on the street had surviving members. It was the most devastated area in all of London, and while the rest of London rose up from its ashes and began to build again, this street remained abandoned, avoided as if the plague was still alive and breathing within the walls of each and every house."

"And no one has lived in any of these houses since?" Tessa asked in a small voice.

"No human, no."

Tessa's eyes shot to Jem, who was now standing a few feet away examining a tattered tapestry. "What does that—"

"Where the hell have you two been?" Will bustled into the room, bringing with him an added burst of witch light. The room was now too well lit for Tessa's liking, all of its secrets and darkness exposed for her to see more clearly. Will seemed completely unaffected by the sinister history of the house, like the still visible signs of death clinging to the walls was nothing more than a poorly executed paint job.

"I checked out the dining and sitting rooms. No signs of Deuschel or any life," he continued. "I still can't figure out where that smell is coming from. It's definitely demonic, but nothing I recognize. It's almost…what, metallic? And old, it's been here a while."

"There are no signs of other downworlders? No portal remnants?" Jem asked, hurrying over to stand next to Will.

"No nothing. This level is completely empty. Except for the smell."

"Drevak demon?" Jem asked again in a serious voice.

"No, it's something else. Something…unique."

"Something that is, say, about seven feet tall, has four arms, and extremely sharp teeth?" Tessa asked in a small voice.

"What?" Will said, confused. "I don't know, perhaps. Why would you—" He stopped mid turn to face Tessa, mouth open and eyebrows arching so high they almost reached his hairline. "Oh," he finished quietly.

Tessa, standing a few feet away, had her back to the two boys and was staring at the doorway of a room on the other side of the staircase. Standing in the doorway was a massive black beast, over seven feet tall and at least five feet wide. It's form was almost human except it's skin was a shiny gray color that seemed to be seeping a thick black liquid that dripped down its entire body, collecting in a putrid puddle on the floor at its feet where bubbled and hissed like acid. It had four massive arms, each ending in a razor sharp three-fingered claw. But its teeth were what really caught Tessa's attention. Its mouth was a perfect circle lined with a seemingly infinite number of rows of jagged teeth. It reminded her of a picture of a shark's mouth she had seen once in her science book in school, except instead of just two rows of teeth the thing had at least ten that she could see, and she speculated many more that she could not see and had no intention of ever seeing. It appeared as if its entire throat was lined with rings of these serrated teeth.

It took a clumsy step forward, bumping into the doorframe that it was too large to fit through. It would have been almost comical had the beast not then smashed through the doorframe as if it were made of sand, sending bits of debris flying in all directions.

Tessa ducked out of the way of a low flying piece of wood and backed towards the two boys.

The beast began moving forward slowly, it's movements jerky and erratic as if it hadn't quite figured out just how to walk on its own two feet yet. Each step was accompanied by a loud whirring sound, like a rope being spun quickly through the air.

"I think we found the source of the smell," Tessa coughed out into her handkerchief. The beast had brought with it a gust of the putrid smell, the air in the entryway now thick with it.

"Right. Well that's one mystery solved. We're making progress, aren't we?" Will said, stepping slightly in front of Jem and Tessa and turning to face them. His eyes were glinting with excitement, his lips quirked up ever so slightly in the corners to reveal a small smile.

"The front door. Tessa, go now." Jem said in a tight voice.

"Umm, perhaps not," Will answered, his voice slightly strained.

Jem's eyes flashed to Will's, his voice like ice when he spoke. "Will, this is hardly the time for a casual demon hunt. Not with Tessa here."

"I couldn't agree more," Will answered, his eyes focused on something behind both Jem and Tessa's head. "But I would argue that the stairs seem to be the most sensible escape route at the moment."

Jem and Tessa whipped around to face the front door and found a small army of clockwork creatures swarming from the dining and sitting rooms into the entryway, blocking the front door. Already at least twenty of the things filled the room with countless more still entering. Slowly, methodically, they began to advance on the three.

Jem whirled back to face Will, his eyes on fire. "Will, I could kill you right now!"

"Well it's hardly my fault!" Will retorted, incredulous.

"YOU were supposed to check the dining room!" Jem yelled while slowly reaching for his seraph blade.

"I did check the dining room! And the sitting room! And that other useless room behind that one! There was no one there! It's like they're materializing out of thin air!" Will was also retrieving his blades, his eyes darting around the room attempting to keep all the clockwork creatures in sight.

"Well clearly you missed something—"

Jem was cut off as the dripping black beast gave a great roar. All three winced at the sound. It was piercing, like grinding nails and steel scraping against steel.

"Boys," Tessa exclaimed, fear catching at her breath. "You can argue about who's fault it is later. But for now, the stairs!"

"Right you are Tessa," Will yelled over another roar of the beast. He grabbed Tessa around the wrist, grabbing Jem in much the same fashion with his other hand and began to dash with them in tow towards the stairs. "Up we go!"


	11. Chapter 11: Dead End

**Another chapter down. I would say we're about halfway through the story now, give or take a couple chapters. A bit shorter than the other's mostly because I'm not really comfortable writing action sequences so I try and keep them short. Anyway here it is. Thanks so much to everyone who reviews, I really appreciate it! **

**Characters and world belong to Cassandra, plot belongs to my head. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: Dead End<strong>

Tessa had never been very good at physical activities. When playing with her brother and his friends, she was always too slow and clumsy to ever really keep up. But Harriet had always forbidden too much exertion anyway, claiming that proper ladies never rushed, never ran, and certainly never broke a sweat. Tessa huffed out a laugh at the memory. _If only Harriet could see me now_.

Tessa was careening down a hallway at full speed, out of breath and slick with sweat. She couldn't remember a time in her life where she had ever ran as fast. Though she also had never been attached to Will Herondale by the wrist when _he _was running as fast as he could run. She suspected her increased velocity had less to do with her own ability, and more to do with Will's.

She could see Jem just off to her right, bobbing erratically in her peripherals as they dashed down the dark hallway. Tessa chanced a glance behind her just in time to see the black creature reach the top of the stairs and begin crashing down the hallway in their direction before she was jerked very abruptly to the right by Will and around a corner.

And just like that Will stopped dead in his tracks, causing Tessa to half run into, half fall over, his immobile frame. She righted herself quickly, brushing away a lock of hair that had plastered itself to her sweaty face and turned to face Will. "What is it?" she panted.

"Dead end," Jem answered as Will looked up and down the hall, muttering profanities under his breath.

Tessa glanced around too. The hall was empty save for a few tattered portraits that still clung to the walls and an overturned chair. It was lined with open or unhinged doors, each leading to an empty room. Tessa assumed this had been the servants' wing where their living quarters were housed. Each room was small and sparsely furnished, housing only a decrepit bed and desk. Many of the rooms didn't even have windows, and those that did looked down on a forty-foot drop onto hard cobble stone.

There was no way out except the way they had come.

As if to stress the grimness of their predicament, the beast gave a great screeching roar as it pounded closer, each echoing footstep shaking the unsteady floor they stood on.

Will turned around, his eyes connecting with Jem's. Unspoken words passed between them, and after a moment Jem gave a curt nod, reaching behind his back and retrieving a second seraph blade. Both boys now held a blade in each hand, the ink black marks on their skin peaking out from under the cuffs of their shirts.

Jem then turned his attention to Tessa, a determined look in his eye. "Tessa, go into that room." He nodded in the direction of one of the empty rooms behind her. "Stay there, hide if you can. Whatever you do, don't come out of that room. No matter what you might hear or see, just don't. Understand?"

Tessa didn't move or say anything. Jem's pale face was especially gaunt and strained, his eyes drowning in dark circles. His chest was heaving unevenly and Tessa could tell he was trying, unsuccessfully, to keep his breathing steady. His hands that held the blades shook ever so slightly. But his voice was strong, and his eyes unwavering.

"Jem, I can't—" she began.

"Please Tessa," he cut her off. "Please just do this."

Tessa gave a quick nod and began to back into the room, keeping Jem and Will in her sight as long as possible. She could hear the beast, it was almost upon them now, and the clockwork creatures couldn't be far behind. There were too many of them for two Shadowhunters to take on. Even with Will's skill and Jem's wit, their sheer numbers were enough to overpower the two boys in no time at all.

Tessa stood in the middle of the dark room, her witch stone illuminating a small circle of light around her. She could see Jem and Will framed through the doorway, both standing with straight backs and tense shoulders facing some unseen monster to the left. The grinding of the beast's movements was drawing closer, it must be just around the corner now, and both Jem and Will crouched lower, preparing for the fight. At the last moment, Jem turned to look at Tessa, catching her eye. He began to speak, his words barely audible over the screeching of the beast. It took Tessa a moment to register what he was saying, for his words to finally sink in. "Don't make a sound."

And then both Jem and Will disappeared, rushing forward from the doorway to meet the beast, leaving the patch of hallway where they once stood dark without their witch stones.

Tessa held her breath, her hands trembling where they hung at her sides, waiting.

And then she heard it, the first sounds of contact. There was a low grunt, then what sounded like metal on metal, and a sharp yell.

Tessa clamped her hands over her mouth to keep her scream in, her eyes filling with tears against her will. She had to do something. Anything. But here she was, hiding like the child she was while others once again put their lives in danger to keep her safe.

The noises from the hall were becoming more constant, and more horrific. The beast was giving off more relentless high pitched shrieks, usually followed by a loud thud like a body being thrown into a wall. The clang of metal on metal would punctuate the beast's shrieks every now and then. She could hear Will and Jem yelling to each other, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. At least she knew they were both still alive. So far.

Tessa was rooted to the floor, her mind screaming at her to move, to take some sort of action, but her muscles frozen in place. The awful smell of the beast, so potent it was as if the creature were standing right beside her, didn't even affect her anymore. All her senses were concentrated on what was happening outside the door, alert for any sign of victory. Or death. Her ears strained to pick up every sound, every thud and footstep, every swish of a seraph blade.

And then she heard it. Coming from the darkness behind her, a low rasping, like the final gasping breath of the old, rattling out of its lungs for the last time. And the smell, so powerful and pungent, was not coming from the hallway like she had thought, but from the very room itself. She turned slowly away from the door to face the dark interior of the room. The rasping continued, slow and steady, increasing ever so slightly in volume. There was a soft rustle of movement, like a cloak dragging across the floor, and then Tessa saw it, only partially illuminated by the cold blue light of her witch stone.

Before she could stop herself, a scream ripped its way from her throat.

* * *

><p>Will couldn't understand it. The beast was not fast moving, him and Jem were landing blow after blow, but it was like trying to fight a stone wall. The demon appeared to be protected by some sort of hard metal casing, like it had been stuffed inside a suite of incredibly thick armor.<p>

"Its skin, it's too hard!" Jem was yelling at him while dodging what would have been a nasty blow. Will could tell that Jem was losing energy, and fast. His movements were becoming more sluggish, his face now drained of all its color. They had to figure out how to take down the creature, and fast.

"I know! We have to find the weak spots!" he yelled back.

The task was easier said than done. No matter how many times their blades connected with the beast, there was no affect. All they appeared to be succeeding in was covering their blades in thick coats of the slimy black goo that seeped out from under the creature's skin. And if Will wasn't mistaken, it also appeared as if his blades were now shrinking, like the black substance was slowly eating away at the metal.

"This isn't working! We need to try something else!" Will yelled to Jem. The creature seemed to be getting angrier, its earsplitting shrieks were becoming more frequent and of a higher pitch. All four of its massive arms whipped wildly through the air as the beast thrashed about, swooping dangerously close to Will and Jem. It showed no signs of tiring, its movements almost seeming to pick up in speed.

"What do you suggest we d—" Jem's sentence was cut off as one of the beast's clawed fists connected with his chest, flinging him across the hall. He slammed into the wall, the weak wood crumbling on impact and falling to the floor in a pile over Jem's crumpled form.

"Jem!" Will yelled, his eyes going wide as he took in his friend's unmoving body.

The creature gave a shriek of what sounded to Will like pleasure then turned its back on Will and began to advance upon Jem's limp frame.

"No!" Will yelled, and dashed towards the beast's turned back. He didn't know what he was doing, all strategic combat training had gone out the window the second Jem was hit. He was now running on pure adrenalin fueled fury, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only, _kill the thing the hurt my friend_.

He leaped into the air, soaring a good five feet before landing with a thud on the creatures back. His skin was instantly on fire, burning everywhere it touched the creature's oozing flesh. But it wasn't flesh, no it was hard, like metal or stone, like a shell on a bug. The black liquid was already eating through his trousers and shirt where they came in contact, and his hands were red and enflamed, almost unrecognizable as human. But he didn't care, he didn't even notice as half his shirt ripped away, burned right off his body, the flesh under it stinging and bubbling slightly as the black liquid began to seep into it. He was climbing up the creature's back, heading for its head. It had to have a weakness, and if it did it was most likely going to be near its eyes or mouth.

Its arms were thrashing about wildly, hitting itself in the back as it tried to find Will to throw him off. "Good," Will grumbled under his breath. "Beat yourself up. Save me the trouble." He neared the head, clinging to the creature's shoulder with one hand as he reached into the back of his belt with the other. _My last blade_, he thought. _Better make it count._

The creature threw its head back, screeching so loudly Will thought his ears might bleed. He could see straight down its throat, see its dozens of circular rows of teeth ringing the inside of its body, he imagined all the way down into its stomach. Without a second thought Will plunged his arm down the beast's throat, blade turned sideways so it sliced the side of the throat as it went down, lodging it as far down as he could get. He released the blade as quickly as possible and jumped from its back, landing hard on his side and rolling away as far as possible. He looked up from the ground in time to see the beast stop moving, two of its arms going to its neck. It began to convulse and gag, like someone choking on a wishbone. Will didn't wait to see what else would happen, the creature was distracted and that was enough. He climbed to his feet, his body shaken and burning but otherwise unharmed, and ran forward. He dodged past the choking creature who was stumbling down the hall, crashing into walls as it continued to choke, and crouched down next to Jem.

Jem was awake, but in bad shape. His chest was heaving and blood streaked from the corner of his mouth down his chin and neck. His eyes were clouded over, the light usually found in them moving farther and farther away with each second.

"Jem," Will said gently, cradling Jem's head in his lap and placing a hand on his cheek, forcing him to make eye contact. "Jem, stay with me. Do you have your medicine? Did you bring it with you?"

Jem gave a small nod and motioned with his eyes to the breast pocket of his vest.

"Ok, it's going to be ok," Will said quickly as he reached into Jem's pocket. Just as he was retrieving the small vile a bloodcurdling scream echoed down the hall.

Will's head snapped in the direction it had come from, fear gripping him. That scream was human, and there was only one other human in the building.

He looked down at Jem, who's eyes were just as wide and filled with fear as his own. "Go," Jem croaked. "I can do this myself. Go. Tessa…"

Without further encouragement Will leaped to his feet, dashing around the corner and heading for the room Jem had told Tessa to hide in.

"Tessa!" he called out as he came to a stop in front of the door. He only saw her for a moment, standing in the middle of the room, her back to him as she faced a cloaked creature that towered five feet over her. In the next second Tessa turned to Will, their eyes connecting for the briefest of moments, and then the creature raised its arm, the cloak dropping away to reveal a skeleton thin hand. With a flick of its wrist the door, which had been unhinged and lying on the floor by the doorway, whipped into the air and slammed into its frame, sealing shut.

"No!" Will cried, running forward and slamming into the door. It didn't budge. "Tessa! Tessa!" he yelled, slamming his fists into the door to no avail. He yanked at the doorknob, pulling with all his strength. It didn't even tremble in its frame. He ripped his stele from his belt, quickly drawing an opening rune on the door, but before he could even finish the mark it sizzled and burned away, falling from the wood like ash. The door was sealed shut. There was no way in.

"No!" Will yelled, kicking the door. He whipped around, grabbing at his hair and pacing for a moment. _There has to be a way in, there's always a way in. Think, Will, think!_ he yelled at himself.

He stopped suddenly, turning to face the sealed room. He knew what he had to do. It was risky, but it was the only chance Tessa had. He took a step forward, resting his forehead and palms on the door, his eyes closed. "Tessa!" he called through the wood. "If you can hear me, know I'm coming from you. I swear it. I'm coming."


End file.
